Our Reporter, Abuja
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, to life imprisonment after finding him guilty on all seven terrorism-related charges filed by the Federal Government.
The judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho on Thursday, came four years after Kanu was arrested in Kenya and extraordinarily rendered to Nigeria. The ruling was issued in Kanu’s absence after he insisted the court would not deliver judgment, prompting security operatives to remove him from the courtroom for alleged unruly conduct.
The judge held that Kanu’s broadcasts on Radio Biafra, including calls for attacks on security personnel and the enforcement of sit-at-home orders in the South-East, amounted to terrorism. He said the directives violated citizens’ freedom of movement and that Kanu had no constitutional authority to issue such orders.
Justice Omotosho concluded that the prosecution proved its case, stating that Kanu’s rhetoric and actions were rooted in violence. Kanu had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Ikengaonline had reported that the Federal Government through the prosecuting counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo, had earlier asked the court to sentence the IPOB leader to death, while the lawmaker representing Kanu in the House of Representatives, Honourable Obinna Aguocha, sought clemency for Kanu asking the court to temper justice with mercy.
