ABUJA — Justice James T. Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, will pronounce sentence on Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), at 4 p.m. today, hours after convicting him on all seven counts of terrorism brought by the Federal Government.
In a judgment delivered Thursday morning, the court found Kanu guilty of committing acts of terrorism, incitement to violence, and continued membership of a terrorist organisation following his Radio Biafra broadcasts between 2018 and 2021. The judge relied heavily on audio and video evidence in which Kanu was heard calling for attacks on security agents and threatening widespread disruption to achieve Biafran independence.
Justice Omotosho described the defendant’s conduct as deliberate and reckless, stating that Kanu “knew exactly what he was doing and was bent on carrying out the threats without regard for the consequences on his own people.”
The conviction marks the culmination of a decade-long legal battle that began with Kanu’s 2015 arrest on treasonable felony charges, his controversial bail jump in 2017, and his dramatic 2021 extraordinary rendition from Kenya. Although the Supreme Court in December 2023 overturned earlier treason charges, it upheld the terrorism counts, clearing the path for Thursday’s verdict.
Kanu declined to enter a defence during the trial, a gamble the court ruled had failed in the face of overwhelming prosecution evidence.
Sentencing under the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act carries penalties ranging from lengthy imprisonment, life to death sentence. The courtroom was briefly disrupted when Kanu challenged the proceedings and was removed before the judgment concluded.
IPOB has rejected the verdict as “judicial terrorism” and vowed an immediate appeal, while the Federal Government welcomed it as a victory for the rule of law. Security has been tightened around the court complex and across parts of the South-East ahead of the afternoon session.
