…Security tightens at home; lawyers launch appeal
A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to life imprisonment after declaring him an international terrorist, and convicting him on all seven terrorism-related charges, including making inciting broadcasts against foreign missions in Nigeria.
Delivering judgment yesterday, Justice James Omotosho criticised Kanu as arrogant, unremorseful and undeterred despite violence linked to his movement in the South-East region.
The judge recalled incidents in which Kanu allegedly slapped his own counsel and refused to submit to the court, saying his conduct showed disregard for the rule of law.
He noted that while the offences could have attracted the death penalty, international conventions against capital punishment prevented such a sentence; Kanu was therefore handed life imprisonment.
Hours before the ruling, Kanu’s brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, raised alarm over heavy security presence around their family home. In a Facebook post, he claimed the residence had been surrounded by operatives, urging the public to be alert. The development heightened tension in parts of the South-East as residents braced for the outcome of the long-awaited verdict.
Kanu’s legal team immediately rejected the ruling, vowing to challenge it. Speaking to journalists, his counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, described the judgment as a travesty of justice, arguing that Kanu was being punished for “mere spoken words” with no demonstrated link to violence.
Ejiofor insisted the conviction was inconsistent with the evidence presented in court and would not stand on appeal. “We are heading to the Court of Appeal. If necessary, we will go to the Supreme Court. This conviction will be overturned”, he stated.
