Nigerian separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu has been sentenced to life in prison on terrorism charges . The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was convicted on all seven counts against him after a legal process that lasted nearly a decade .
Judge James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered the ruling on Thursday. He said he was satisfied that Kanu had used broadcasts to incite violence and killings as part of his campaign for a separate state in south-east Nigeria . The judge stated that the prosecution's evidence was "credible, cogent, and uncontroverted" .
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for the IPOB leader . In his decision, Judge Omotosho said he chose to "temper justice with mercy," noting that the death penalty is "frowned upon" by the international community . He sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment on four counts, 20 years for one count, and five years for another, ordering the sentences to run concurrently . The judge also ruled that Kanu must be kept in protective custody and not be allowed access to any digital devices .
Kanu was not in the courtroom to hear the verdict. He had been forcibly removed for unruly behavior after objecting to the proceedings and accusing the judge of bias . The IPOB leader had dismissed his legal team and refused to defend himself, challenging the court's jurisdiction and arguing that his charge sheet did not reference any written law in Nigeria .
The judge found that Kanu's actions as leader of IPOB and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), constituted terrorism . The prosecution presented evidence that his broadcasts and orders incited deadly attacks on security forces and citizens in the south-east . The court also held him responsible for the violent enforcement of stay-at-home orders in the region, which have resulted in significant economic losses and hundreds of deaths .
Nnamdi Kanu's journey to this sentencing began in 2009 when he started Radio Biafra, a station calling for an independent state for the Igbo people, broadcasting to Nigeria from London . He founded the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in 2014, a movement demanding independence for a Biafran state . The Nigerian government banned IPOB as a terrorist organisation in 2017 .
Kanu was first arrested in October 2015 but jumped bail in 2017 after a military raid on his home, leaving the country . The government announced his re-arrest in 2021, with his lawyers stating he had been detained in Kenya and forcibly returned to Nigeria . In 2022, an appeal court ordered the charges against him dropped, citing illegal arrest, but the Supreme Court overturned this ruling the following year .
This legal case unfolds against a long historical background. The calls for Biafran independence date back to 1967 when Igbo leaders declared a Biafran state, sparking a brutal three-year civil war that led to the deaths of up to one million people before the secessionist rebellion was defeated . Many Igbo people continue to feel marginalized by the Nigerian state .
In a related legal development, the Enugu State High Court had declared the proscription of IPOB unconstitutional in October 2023 . That court ruled that self-determination is not a crime and ordered the southeast governors and federal government to pay N8 billion in damages to Kanu . However, this did not affect the federal government's designation of IPOB as a terrorist organization or the criminal case against Kanu, which was already before the Supreme Court .
During the sentencing hearing, prosecution counsel Adegboyega Awomolo said the conviction showed that those killed due to Kanu's incitement "did not die in vain" . He described Kanu's acts of terrorism as being "against innocent Nigerians" and noted the IPOB leader had demonstrated "no respect for justice administration" .
Security was tightened around the courthouse in Abuja ahead of the verdict amid concerns about protests by Kanu's supporters . While Kanu remains a popular figure in the south-eastern region where his movement has its heartland, initial reaction to the verdict there appeared muted .
Kanu has 90 days to appeal the life imprisonment sentence .