Gov Aliyu Was Not Part Of  Abia  Gov’s Team That Visited  Kanu At Sokoto Prisons  – Govt Clarifies

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The Sokoto State Government has vehemently rejected claims suggesting that Governor Ahmed Aliyu  accompanied his Abia State counterpart, Dr Alex Otti, on his visit to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the convicted leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra IPOB, at the Sokoto Custodial Centre.

The Source reports that Otti had, on November 30, 2025,  paid a solidarity visit to Kanu, barely a week after  the IPOB’S leader was convicted, sentenced to life in jail and relocated from the detention facility of the Department of State Service DSS in Abuja to the Sokoto Correctional Service facility.

Reports of the visit claimed that some Sokoto State Government officials, including the Governor, were among those who accompanied the Abia State Governor.

A statement from  Abubakar Bawa, Media aide to the Sokoto State Governor on Friday, December 5, 2025, while dismissing the claims, informed that Governor Aliyu was not even in the country as at the time Governor Otti came calling.

“For the avoidance doubt, Governor Ahmed Aliyu was in the Holy Land performing the lesser Hajj as of 30th November 2025, the day Dr Otti privately visited Sokoto state”, Bawa stated.

The statement further noted that on the day of the visit, Governor Otti  was only received at the Sultan Abubakar III International Airport by some Commissioners and Special Advisers who brought him to the Sokoto State Government House in line with protocols.

Besides, the Governor’s spokesperson emphasized that the visiting Abia State Governor was also feted with the traditional hospitality of the Sokoto people.

“As you all know, the people of Sokoto State are hospitable. We treat our visitors with utmost respect, irrespective of tribe or religion”, the statement added.

This is as the Sokoto State Government reaffirmed Governor Aliyu’s unflinching commitment to the “Nigerian project, and deep respect for constituted authorities.

“The Sokoto State Government reiterates that Governor Ahmed Aliyu holds deep respect for constituted authorities, remains committed to the Nigerian project and continues to be a peace loving and law-abiding citizen”, Bawa stated.

The State Government’s reaction  is coming against the backdrop of a plethora of both open and subdued agitations from some Federal Government officials and local stakeholders against claims that  the Sokoto State Governor was part of the visit to  Kanu, which they perceive as having the potential to undermine constituted authorities.