By Emmanuel Kwada
Special Counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Aloy Ejimakor, has announced that the defence team will immediately appeal Thursday’s judgment in which Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment on four counts of terrorism.
Delivering judgment after a protracted trial, Justice Omotosho sentenced the IPOB leader to life imprisonment on Counts One, Four, Five and Six; 20 years imprisonment on Count Three; and five years on Count Seven, all without option of fine. The sentences are to run concurrently.
The judge held that Kanu orchestrated violent acts through threats, incitement, and directives issued to his followers via radio broadcasts and social media, adding that terrorism cannot be justified under any principle of law. He noted that Kanu declined to enter a defence and repeatedly disrupted court proceedings.
Speaking to journalists moments after the sentencing, Ejimakor described the verdict as “a symbol of the travesty of justice that everybody has suspected” and insisted it had no legal foundation.
“We are heading to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal is the only court in this country that sits as a jury. We will ask the justices to examine what happened today,” Ejimakor declared.
He continued: “If the Court of Appeal disagrees with us, we head straight to the Supreme Court. By God Almighty, Nnamdi Kanu will not stand convicted. Today is the only day I have seen a man convicted for what he said, not what he did.”
The senior lawyer branded the sentence “overboard, cruel and unusual,” arguing that Kanu was punished for broadcasts made from undisclosed locations that were never directly tied to any act of violence.
“How can you convict a man for making a broadcast from an unnamed location? He never tied that broadcast to any violence – not even someone slapping someone,” Ejimakar said.
He maintained that seeking self-determination or a separate nation is not a crime and accused the court of setting a dangerous precedent: “In Nigeria today, if someone says ‘Don’t be silly,’ you get convicted. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu made a broadcast. So what? You convict him for terrorism over words?”
Background of the Case
Nnamdi Kanu was first arrested in Lagos in October 2015 on charges of treasonable felony and terrorism. Granted bail in 2017 for health reasons, he fled the country after a military raid on his home in Abia State during “Operation Python Dance.”
He was rearrested in Kenya in June 2021 and returned to Nigeria in circumstances his legal team has consistently described as “extraordinary rendition” in violation of international law. The prosecution subsequently amended the charges to 15 counts, seven of which were upheld on Thursday.
The trial has been marred by repeated adjournments, allegations of procedural irregularities, and disputes over jurisdiction and the legality of Kanu’s rendition.
As court officials led Kanu away, IPOB supporters gathered outside the courthouse in Abuja erupted in protest, chanting pro-Biafra slogans. Security operatives cordoned off the area to prevent escalation.
The defence has 90 days to file its notice of appeal.
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