Nnamdi Kanu to Appeal Life Imprisonment Verdict
Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), will appeal the life sentence handed down to him by the Federal High Court in Abuja, according to his former lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor.
Justice James Omotosho on Thursday convicted Kanu on seven terrorism-related charges. The court issued a life sentence on five counts, a 20-year term on one count, and an additional five-year term on another, all without the option of a fine.
Read also: Convicts Nnamdi Kanu on Seven Terrorism Charges
Ejimakor said the legal team would immediately head to the Court of Appeal, insisting the conviction lacked legal merit. He argued that the broadcasts used as evidence were “harmless speeches” and that the judgment ignored earlier rulings on Kanu’s extraordinary rendition and constitutional rights.
In an open letter, Kanu accused the federal government of manipulating the judicial process since his 2021 rendition from Kenya, alleging an “unholy alliance” between the executive and parts of the judiciary. He also maintained that IPOB was declared lawful in a 2017 Federal High Court ruling and insisted he would not submit to any trial conducted by a court “without proper jurisdiction.”
The case continues to generate national debate over judicial consistency, executive overreach and the handling of separatist-related prosecutions.
