Court Sentences IPOB Leader Nnamdi Kanu to Life Imprisonment for Terrorism

Agency Report

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday sentenced Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to life imprisonment after convicting him on multiple counts of terrorism, bringing to a close one of Nigeria’s longest and most contentious legal battles.
Delivering judgment, Justice James Omotosho found Kanu guilty on all seven terrorism-related charges filed by the Federal Government, ruling that the prosecution had proved its case “beyond reasonable doubt”. The judge held that Kanu’s repeated broadcasts—many of which were played in court—contained explicit threats, incitement to violence and directives that resulted in killings, attacks on security personnel and destruction of public property, particularly across the South-East.
Justice Omotosho sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment on Counts 1, 4, 5 and 6, describing them as “grave offences” that would ordinarily attract the death penalty. However, the court opted instead for life imprisonment. He also imposed a 20-year jail term on Count 3, and five years on Count 7, with all sentences to run concurrently.
“In extending mercy, I hereby order that the sentence shall run concurrently,” the judge said. He also directed that Kanu be kept in a secure facility under strict monitoring by the Office of the National Security Adviser, and barred him from accessing digital communication devices.
Justice Omotosho said the prosecution’s evidence—including video recordings, witness statements and transcripts of Kanu’s broadcasts—showed clearly that the IPOB leader issued orders for attacks on security personnel, destruction of critical infrastructure and disruption of civil life through repeated “sit-at-home” directives.
He quoted extensively from Kanu’s broadcasts, including statements such as:
“Go to the bush… ambush them, take their guns and kill them… Set Muritala Muhammed Airport on fire… breach the perimeter fence and burn it down.”
Omotosho also ruled that Kanu’s threats against the British High Commission, its former commissioner Catriona Laing, and the U.S. embassy amounted to “international terrorism” under the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013.
“The defendant’s actions go beyond agitation for self-determination,” he said. “He posed a threat to Nigeria, to foreign missions, and to people he claimed to represent.”
Kanu was first arrested in 2015 and has since been at the center of a decade-long legal and political confrontation between the government and a separatist movement that has fuelled intermittent unrest in the South-East. IPOB was designated a terrorist organisation in 2017, a classification, the group and its supporters continue to reject.
The judge described IPOB’s activities as comparable to those of Boko Haram and other violent groups, saying: “This terror organisation has inflicted bloodshed, denied innocent citizens their fundamental rights and caused destruction in the South-East.”
He emphasised that while the African Charter recognises the right to self-determination, such pursuits must follow constitutional channels. “Nigeria is an indivisible and indissoluble sovereign state. Any agitation must follow legal processes, not terrorism.”
The proceedings were briefly interrupted when Kanu objected to the court’s decision to proceed without his final written address, shouting: “You don’t know the law… show me where you have the right to waive my right.” He was removed from the courtroom, and judgment was delivered in his absence.
Lead prosecution counsel, Gboyega Awomolo (SAN), who earlier demanded the death penalty, said the verdict offered “succour” to families of slain security officers, adding that “the convict now knows the law is greater than any individual”.
A representative of Kanu in the National Assembly, Hon. Obinna Aguocha, pleaded for leniency before sentencing, describing the trial as “historic”.
Kanu’s legal team, however, rejected the judgment entirely. His consultant, Aloy Ejimakor, vowed to appeal, saying: “Today is the only day I have seen a man convicted for what he said, not what he did. The sentence is overboard, cruel and unusual.”
“We are heading to the Court of Appeal,” he stated. “By God Almighty, Nnamdi Kanu will not stand convicted.”
Thursday’s ruling marks a significant moment in Nigeria’s fight against separatist-driven violence. Yet it also signals the beginning of another long legal journey, with Kanu’s lawyers set to take the case before the Court of Appeal and, if necessary, the Supreme Court.
For now, the IPOB leader begins his life sentence—an outcome Justice Omotosho said was necessary “to protect the state, innocent lives, and the sanctity of the law.”