The long-running case against Nnamdi Kanu reached a turning point after a Nigerian court sentenced the separatist leader to life in prison, bringing a dramatic close to years of proceedings tied to his push for an independent Biafra.
The court ruled that Kanu’s actions and messages directly fuelled unrest in the southeast, where security agencies and civilians suffered deadly attacks linked to supporters of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra.
The judgment, delivered in Abuja, centred on allegations that Kanu used Radio Biafra and other online platforms to issue commands and comments that encouraged violence.
Judge James Omotosho said the prosecution successfully proved that the separatist leader was responsible for broadcasts and instructions that led to organised assaults, insisting the evidence left no doubt about his role.
According to the judge, Kanu’s words had real consequences on the ground. He said the defendant pressed ahead with a dangerous plan while ignoring the impact on the community he claimed to represent.
“Mr Kanu knew what he was doing; he was bent on carrying out these threats without consideration for his own people. From the incontrovertible evidence, it is clear that the defendant carried out preparatory acts of terrorism. He had the duty to explain himself, but failed to do so,” Omotosho said.
He added that the push for self-rule must follow the country’s legal pathway and that “any self-determination not done according to the constitution of Nigeria is illegal.”
Although the prosecution sought the death penalty, the judge said such punishment had fallen out of line with global expectations.
He instead ordered that Kanu serve a life sentence, saying, “The death penalty is now being frowned upon by the international community. Consequently, in the interests of justice, I hereby sentence the convict to life imprisonment instead of [the] death sentence.”
Kanu was found guilty on six out of seven counts, with the court still finalising parts of the ruling. His lawyers now have 90 days to lodge an appeal.
The trial has been tense from the start, with Kanu repeatedly claiming that the court was biased. He objected loudly during the final hearing, insisting his capture in Kenya and transfer to Nigeria breached the law. He was taken out of the courtroom shortly before the sentencing was delivered.
Kanu’s legal troubles stretch back a decade. He was first arrested in 2015 and later left the country while out on bail. From abroad, he used social media and Radio Biafra to speak to supporters, sparking anger from authorities who said he encouraged attacks on security units.
He was brought back to Abuja in 2021 after being detained in Kenya, but his lawyer said he faced mistreatment during that period. Kenya rejected that claim.
His lawyers later argued that statements made while he was in London should not be applied in a Nigerian court. “I can’t see how someone would make a statement in London and it becomes a triable offence in this country,” his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, said.
Kanu, a dual citizen of Nigeria and Britain, set up Radio Biafra in 2009 after leaving the country to pursue studies in London.
In one of his broadcasts, he said, “We have one thing in common, all of us that believe in Biafra, one thing we have in common, a pathological hatred for Nigeria. I cannot begin to put into words how much I hate Nigeria.”
The Biafra question remains a tense issue in the southeast, where IPOB continues to champion a breakaway state, drawing on the failed 1967 attempt that plunged the country into a three-year conflict that killed more than one million people.
