By Izunna Okafor, Awka
Nigeria’s long-running legal saga involving the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, reached a dramatic climax on Thursday, as the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced him to life imprisonment after convicting him on all seven terrorism-related counts.
The courtroom proceedings, marked by tense exchanges, multiple disruptions, and unusually stern judicial remarks, ended with Justice James Omotosho declaring Kanu an “international terrorist” whose actions constituted grave threats both to Nigeria and to the very people he claimed to represent.
Justice Omotosho, while delivering the verdict, ruled that Kanu’s conduct, including numerous inciting broadcasts and directives that had resulted in violence and killings across the South East, amounted to terrorism under Nigerian law. The court also upheld its declaration of Kanu as “international terrorist,” drawing from the prosecution’s evidence that linked him to threats against the British High Commission and an order to destroy the American Embassy in a previous broadcast. Justice Omotosho also held that Kanu’s series of broadcasts incited killings, violence, sit-at-home orders and other acts judged to be terrorism within and beyond Nigeria.
He held that although the prosecution had asked for the death penalty, global trends and humanitarian considerations discouraged such sentences, prompting the court to impose life imprisonment for Counts 1, 4, 5, and 6, alongside a 20-year term for Count 3 and a five-year term for Count 7 — all to run concurrently.
The judge also ordered that he be held in a secure correctional facility outside the Kuje Custodial Centre, and restricted from accessing any digital device except under strict monitoring by the office of the National Security Adviser.
Throughout the judgment, the court emphasized that while the African Charter recognises the right to self-determination, it cannot conflict with the constitutional provision affirming Nigeria as one indivisible and indissoluble entity. The judge maintained that Kanu’s agitation crossed into terrorism, noting that he posed threats not only to the Nigerian state but to his own people.
Kanu’s trial, which began in 2015 following his initial arrest on terrorism and treasonable felony charges, has been characterized by multiple dramatic turns. He fled Nigeria in 2017 while on bail after a military operation at his residence. He was later re-arrested in Kenya under controversial circumstances in 2021 and returned to Nigeria, a move his legal team has consistently described as an unlawful “extraordinary rendition”, opposing his detention and the protracted legal journey on the grounds of jurisdiction, extradition, and procedural fairness.
The charges against Kanu expanded over time, and although a Court of Appeal had previously dismissed the case on grounds of illegal rendition, the Supreme Court later overturned that ruling, clearing the way for the continuation of the trial.
Below is a full chronological breakdown of Thursday’s proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja:
At exactly 9:12am, the hearing commenced with the appearance announcements, during which the judge reminded all parties that courtroom decorum would be strictly enforced. Moments later, Kanu protested that he had filed certain processes and insisted that no judgment could proceed, citing what he claimed were unresolved filings.
At 9:20am, he began identifying notices he said he filed at the Court of Appeal, prompting Justice Omotosho at 9:26am to consolidate the three motions before the court.
By 9:27am, Kanu formally adopted the motions and argued that Count Seven did not exist and had effectively destroyed the integrity of the trial.
At 9:33am, he listed several motions, including one filed on November 12 requesting referral of constitutional questions to the Court of Appeal, another demanding the prosecution’s final written address, and a motion dated November 17 seeking bail. He insisted at 9:34am that he had entered his defence in principle, despite calling no witnesses.
Between 9:38am and 9:39am, the prosecution’s lead counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, told the court he had filed no counter-affidavit to the bail application and asked the court to dismiss it.
Kanu, at 9:39am and 9:42am, insisted the charges lacked legal basis and questioned why he remained in custody over “charges that don’t exist,” arguing that he never jumped bail as alleged.
At 9:49am, he applied for bail based on what he described as concurrent superior court rulings. However, at 9:52am, the judge reminded him that many of the issues he raised had already been addressed in previous rulings. Justice Omotosho also held that Section 306 of the ACJA forbids stay of proceedings in criminal matters.
By 9:56am, a confrontation arose when the judge insisted that judgment must proceed. Kanu refused to release the courtroom microphone to the DSS at 10:00am, forcing intervention.
At 10:07am, the judge returned and explained that he had instructed the defendant to comport himself, warning that the judgment must continue — and at 10:08am, it became clear that Kanu had been removed from the courtroom for persistent unruliness.
At 10:10am, the judge observed that Kanu’s behavior was not new and stressed that nobody is above the law.
At 10:11am, he emphasized that no defendant may disrupt proceedings, noting that Kanu had a history of physically confronting his own counsel. By 10:14am, the court resolved to deliver the judgment in his absence, citing his failure to comport himself.
At 10:15am, Justice Omotosho began reading the judgment, highlighting earlier appeals he made to the defendant to enter his defence. At 12:34pm, he held that Kanu deliberately rested his case on the prosecution’s evidence — a risky legal strategy — after refusing to call any witness.
At 1:01pm, the judge noted that Kanu failed to respond to specific broadcast allegations and refused to defend himself, while at 1:02pm he held that evidence proved that Kanu ordered sit-at-home directives in the South East.
At 1:07pm, he convicted Kanu on Count One, detailing how the IPOB leader issued threats capable of bringing Nigeria to a standstill.
At 1:13pm, Count Two was affirmed, and at 1:23pm, Kanu was found guilty of Count Three, with Justice Omotosho ruling that his threats and sit-at-home broadcasts amounted to acts of terrorism.
At 1:24pm, the court proceeded to Counts Four and Five; by 1:43pm, he was convicted on both.
At 1:57pm, the judge described him as an “international terrorist,” referencing evidence that Kanu plotted to bomb the British High Commission and harm the High Commissioner.
At 2:02pm, he held that Kanu extended his terrorism activities to the United States by calling for the American Embassy to be attacked.
At 2:04pm, Count Six was upheld. By 2:09pm, Kanu was convicted on Count Seven as well, leaving him guilty on all charges.
At 2:13pm, Justice Omotosho declared Nigeria indivisible and ruled that secessionist agitation through violence constitutes a serious offense.
At 2:16pm, the judge emphasized that self-determination cannot be achieved by referendum under Nigerian law but only by constitutional amendment.
At 2:18pm, the judge described Kanu as rude, cocky, and responsible for harm done to innocent persons in the South East.
At 2:22pm, Awomolo addressed the court on sentencing, arguing that terrorism poses grave danger to humanity and pointing to families of slain security personnel.
At 2:32pm, the prosecution demanded a death sentence but asked that Kanu be kept in an extremely secure location due to safety concerns.
At 2:37pm, the judge noted Kanu’s habitual unruliness and permitted one of his consultants, Hon. Obi Aguocha, to speak on his behalf after Alloy Ejimakor redirected the request.
At 2:42pm, the court rose to reconvene at 3:50pm.
At 4:15pm, the judge rebuked Kanu for slapping his counsel in public and noted that although the defendant behaved improperly, the court would not consider this in sentencing.
At 4:20pm, the judge said the court was initially inclined toward the death penalty, noting Kanu’s lack of remorse, but ultimately chose to temper justice with mercy in line with global trends rejecting capital punishment.
Finally, at 4:22pm, Kanu was sentenced to life imprisonment, with restrictions preventing him from accessing digital devices except under strict supervision by the Office of the National Security Adviser. His transmitter was ordered forfeited to the Federal Government.
At 4:28pm, the court rose, ending one of Nigeria’s most consequential trials.
Watch part of the video below:
