By Rita Enemuru, Reporting
A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to life imprisonment after convicting him on all seven counts of terrorism charges.
The sentencing followed a dramatic court session where the judge noted the defendant’s consistently unruly behaviour.
Justice Omotosho, presiding over the case, convicted Kanu on all seven counts, stating that “the defendant is a terrorist and must be treated as such.”
The court found him guilty of making broadcasts that constituted acts of terrorism, including threats of violence and killings, the declaration of sit-at-home orders in the South East, and preparatory acts of terrorism.
The judge classified Kanu as an “international terrorist” due to his intent to “bomb the British High Commission, and to kill the then British high commissioner Catriona Laing.”
The final sentence, delivered at 4:22 pm, saw the court impose multiple prison terms:
Life imprisonment on Counts 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6, in place of the death sentence demanded by the prosecution.
20 years’ imprisonment on Count three and five years’ imprisonment on Count seven.
The judge ordered that all sentences run concurrently.
During the hearing, the prosecution’s lead counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, argued for the death sentence, stating, “Terrorism is a great threat to humanity,” and that Kanu “has demonstrated no restraint for ACJA.”
Awomolo also pleaded that the court keep Kanu in the “safest correctional center” due to his safety concerns, suggesting Kuje Correctional Center was “not ideal.”
Justice Omotosho ruled that the judgement would be taken in Kanu’s absence, citing his “aggressiveness and unruliness.”
The judge noted Kanu’s habitual unruly attitude, stating, “Nobody is above the law. If we allow people to act how they please, it will out rule the sanctity of the court.”
The judge pointed out that Kanu had slapped his counsel in public on one occasion.
Despite the conviction, the court later asked Kanu’s lawyers, referred to as consultants, to give him feedback on the sentence and “act professionally.”
The court stressed that Nigeria is an “indivisible and indissoluble sovereign state,” and that anyone agitating for a break-up is breaking the law.
Justice Omotosho ruled that the right to self-determination, while acknowledged by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, must be pursued through constitutional means—specifically “seeking an amendment to the constitution from the National Assembly and not a referendum.”
Justice Omotosho ordered that Kanu must be held in a facility suitable for his custody, stating, “putting him in Kuje Correctional Center will not be viable.”
The judge also directed that Kanu should not be allowed near any digital device unless monitored by the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).
Furthermore, his “transmitter would be given to the federal government.”
The sentencing followed the judge’s earlier observation that Kanu had “failed to respond to the broadcast accusation and deliberately refused to enter his defence,” calling it a “gamble and a risky action.”
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