Kanu’s Self-Representation Stalls Appeal, Says Ejimakor — Likens Him to Awolowo

“Legal consultant Aloy Ejimakor says Nnamdi Kanu’s refusal to hire lawyers has delayed his appeal, likening his self-representation to Awolowo’s legacy. He also backs Kanu’s request for a transfer from Sokoto prison to a facility closer to Abuja.”

Aloy Ejimakor, legal consultant to the convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has likened his client’s legal approach to that of the late Premier of the old Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, following Kanu’s insistence on representing himself in court.

In a conversation with The Punch on Sunday, Ejimakor disclosed that Kanu’s refusal to hire a legal team has contributed to the delay in filing his appeal against the life imprisonment sentence handed down by the Federal High Court in Abuja.

“MNK has not filed his appeal yet because he has refused to hire lawyers. You know he disengaged us as his lawyers, so we now act only in the capacity of consultants. I am a consultant to him,” Ejimakor explained.

He continued:
“I don’t know why he does not want a lawyer, but I believe it is because he is a great man. Many great men are like that. They believe you can’t present their case better than they can. Even Awolowo refused to hire lawyers in his time. MNK wants to represent himself, and there are about four or five processes he must complete before filing an appeal at the Court of Appeal.”

Ejimakor also supported Kanu’s request to be transferred from the Sokoto Correctional Centre to a custodial facility closer to Abuja.

According to him:
“The court said he can’t remain in Kuje prison, which is fine. But he still needs to be closer to Abuja. If the court can grant his motion to be transferred to Suleja or Keffi, that would help. There is nothing special about any prison in Nigeria—they are all the same. But MNK needs proximity to Abuja.”

Kanu opted to represent himself after disengaging his former legal team, led by a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Kanu Agabi (SAN).

On November 20, the Federal High Court found him guilty on all seven terrorism-related charges brought by the Federal Government and sentenced him to life imprisonment. He was subsequently moved from the Kuje Correctional Centre to Sokoto due to security concerns following past prison attacks.

Kanu later approached Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court seeking a transfer to a facility nearer to Abuja, such as Suleja or Keffi. His application, personally signed, requested that the motion be deemed moved in absentia and asked the court to direct the Federal Government or the Nigerian Correctional Service to effect the transfer.

In the motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, Kanu argued that his continued detention in Sokoto—more than 700 kilometres from Abuja—has made it almost impossible to prepare his notice and record of appeal.

He maintained that all individuals critical to assisting him, including relatives, associates, and legal consultants, are based in Abuja.

“The applicant’s continued detention in Sokoto renders his constitutional right to appeal impracticable, occasioning exceptional hardship and potentially defeating the said right, in violation of Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” the motion stated.

Kanu insists that being relocated to a custodial facility closer to Abuja is necessary to enable him to effectively exercise and prosecute his constitutional right of appeal.