Kanu was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday. On Friday, lead counsel Aloy Ejimakor announced on X that Kanu had been transferred from DSS custody in Abuja to the correctional facility in Sokoto.

“MAZI NNAMDI KANU has just been moved from DSS Abuja to the correctional facility (prison) in Sokoto; so far away from his lawyers, family, loved ones and well-wishers,” Ejimakor wrote.

Reacting angrily, Mrs Okwu-Kanu said she only learned of the transfer three hours earlier from other sources, while those who visited Kanu in Abuja earlier in the day kept her in the dark and the lawyers rushed to social media.

She described the conduct as unacceptable and warned the legal team: “If you all do not sit up and behave in a civilised and professional manner, I will stress you with my ‘stress’ and I promise you, you will be stressed. Enough of your theatrics! Be warned!”

Meanwhile, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South) said the life sentence was not surprising, pointing to the federal government’s refusal to grant Kanu amnesty unlike other groups as the reason the outcome was inevitable.