By Ogidi Chidinma Favour
The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to life imprisonment after a decade-long trial that involved four judges, multiple adjournments, and intense public scrutiny.
Justice James Omotosho delivered the verdict on Thursday, 20 November, convicting Kanu on all seven terrorism-related charges brought by the Federal Government. The offences included inciting violence through Radio Biafra broadcasts, issuing threats to security personnel and their families, ordering sit-at-home directives across the South-East, and importing a concealed radio transmitter into Nigeria in 2015.
Justice Omotosho stated that the court found overwhelming and undeniable evidence that Nnamdi Kanu used his platform to promote violence and terrorism. He asserted that Kanu repeatedly ordered attacks on security agents and encouraged the destruction of government infrastructure.
Referencing accounts from both Premium Times and Vanguard, the judge emphasised that the IPOB leader showed “no remorse” throughout the proceedings. He characterised Kanu as “arrogant, cocky, aggressive, and full of himself,” adding that his behaviour in court—including his insistence that judgment would not be delivered—amounted to disrespect. Security operatives were ordered to remove him from the courtroom due to his “unruly conduct.”
Although the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act prescribes the death penalty for several of the charges, Justice Omotosho opted for life imprisonment. He explained that global attitudes against capital punishment, as well as scriptural counsel from the Book of Matthew, influenced his decision to “temper justice with mercy.”
The court ordered that Kanu be detained in protective custody due to the violence linked to his broadcasts. He is also restricted from using digital devices unless explicitly authorised by the National Security Adviser. The radio transmitter he imported was forfeited to the Federal Government.
Justice Omotosho further noted similarities between Kanu’s case and that of Simon Ekpa, another Biafra agitator who was sentenced to six years in Finland earlier this year. Both were found guilty of using violence and intimidation in their campaigns for a sovereign Biafra.
This case, which began in 2015, stalled multiple times after Kanu dismissed lawyers, filed fresh objections, and refused to enter a defence. The proceedings were further disrupted when Kanu fled the country in 2017 following a military raid on his home. He was arrested in Kenya in 2021 and returned to Nigeria under circumstances the Supreme Court later described as illegal, though not sufficient to annul the charges.
Despite dismissing Kanu’s objections, including claims that the charges were filed under a repealed law, the judge stated that the decision was strictly based on evidence, not personal conduct.
What’s next?
While Kanu’s legal team did not offer a defence during the trial, observers expect an appeal, given the severity of the punishment and the political sensitivity surrounding the case.
For now, however, the Federal High Court has closed one of Nigeria’s most controversial legal battles of the past decade, handing the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader a life sentence for terrorism.
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