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Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has visited the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, at a prison facility in Sokoto State, where he is serving his life imprisonment for terrorism.
Mr Otti visited the prison facility on Sunday, accompanied by some government officials from Sokoto State, PREMIUM TIMES gathered.
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Conviction and life imprisonment
This newspaper reported that, on 20 November, Mr Kanu was convicted of terrorism by a Federal High Court, Abuja, after the court found him guilty on all seven counts filed against him by the Nigerian government.
The trial Judge, James Omotosho, sentenced him to life imprisonment and ordered that he be prevented from having access to mobile devices and broadcast equipment except under the watch of security operatives.
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The IPOB leader was moved from Abuja to Sokoto State shortly after the court sentenced him.
Mr Kanu hails from Afara-Ukwu in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria’s South-east.
Lawyer hails Otti
In a post on his X handle on Sunday, Aloy Ejimakor, the former special counsel to the IPOB leader, hailed Mr Otti for visiting Mr Kanu, fulfilling his promise to the IPOB leader.
“May this your visit be the first step to ending this undeserved ordeal, sooner than later,” Mr Ejimakor wrote in the microblogging platform, referring to the governor.
When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday night, Mr Otti’s media aide, Ferdinand Ekeoma, confirmed the governor’s visit to Mr Kanu at the Sokoto prison.
Mr Ekeoma said he would soon issue a press statement to provide details of the governor’s visit to the IPOB leader.
First visit by a governor
With the development, Mr Otti became the first governor to visit Mr Kanu in Sokoto State after the court sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Barely 24 hours after the court sentenced Mr Kanu, Mr Otti had announced he would activate plans to secure his release from the prison facility.
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