A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to life imprisonment after finding him guilty on all seven terrorism charges brought by the Federal Government.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice James Omotosho ruled that prosecutors had presented convincing evidence showing that Kanu’s activities amounted to terrorism and contributed to violence and instability across the South-East.
The judge said the IPOB leader, who has long positioned himself as a champion of Igbo self-determination, instead orchestrated actions that endangered lives and threatened Nigeria’s national security.
Justice Omotosho described Kanu as “an international terrorist,” insisting that the severity of his actions required an equally severe punishment under Nigerian law.
He noted that the defendant opted not to enter a formal defence and chose to rely on the prosecution’s case, a decision the court said left the evidence against him unchallenged.
According to the judge, the government successfully established that Kanu’s broadcasts and directives to followers contributed to bloodshed, destruction of property and the escalation of separatist tensions in the region.
The court was still delivering the final parts of the lengthy judgment as lawyers to Kanu indicated they would announce their next legal steps in response to the ruling.
