Nnamdi Kanu Bags Life Imprisonment for Terrorism
Mazi NNAMDI KANU; the embattled leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for terrorism.
The pro-Biafra agitator was convicted on seven counts of terrorism and illegal importation of broadcast equipment, brought against him by the Federal Government.
The charges bother on making broadcasts with the intent to intimidate and threaten; inciting attacks on law enforcement agencies, as well as membership of a terrorist organization, through the Radio Biafra and on social media platforms.
Justice JAMES OMOTOSHO of the Federal High Court in Abuja, delivered the judgment to mark end of the trial of KANU, which started in 2021, but which he inherited in May 2025.
Justice OMOTOSHO cited several materials to support his decisions, including an exhibit relating to KANU’s purported broadcasts during the violent disruption of the EndSARS protests in Lagos in October, 2020.
The Trial Judge held that the broadcast cited in court was responsible for the killing of several law enforcement officers, destruction of police stations and other public property and buildings in Lagos.
Justice OMOTOSHO’s judgment was televised and broadcast across major television channels, and monitored across the country.
CUE IN: OMOTOSHO-JUDGMENT
Before arriving at the decisions, Justice JAMES OMOTOSHO dismissed NNAMDI KANU’s preliminary objection, in which he challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case against him.
Justice OMOTOSHO also held that the defendant failed to take advantage of three options opened to him in such criminal trial to defend himself, despite having his no-case submission overruled.
The Judge said by refusing to enter his defence, the defendant inadvertently decided to rest his case on that of the prosecution, which he described as a risky gamble.
Earlier, Justice JAMES OMOTOSHO ordered the removal of NNAMDI KANU before going ahead to deliver the judgment, after the defendant displayed what he described as unruly behavour, after he was refused the request to read his final written address.
In his concluding statement, Justice JAMES OMOTOSHO addressed NNAMDI KANU’s claim as a freedom fighter and his commitment to self-determination, stating that the agitation for the breakup of Nigeria is in violation of the Nigerian Constitution.