Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) have rejected the life imprisonment handed down on Thursday to IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
In separate statements, both groups described the judgment as unjust, politically motivated, and driven by hatred against the Igbo people.
IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, faulted the ruling, arguing that it was illegal to convict anyone based on a repealed law. He insisted that no evidence linking Kanu to terrorism was presented during the trial.
“No gun, no grenade, no GPMG, no explosive, and no attack plan was ever found on Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. None. No witness, civilian or military, ever testified that he committed any offence known to Nigerian or international law. This is an undeniable fact,” IPOB said.
The group vowed to expose what it called “the fundamental defects, contradictions, and illegalities” in the judgment in the coming days, insisting that Kanu’s only ‘offence’ was demanding self-determination—a right protected under international conventions, including Article 20 of the African Charter on Human Rights.
IPOB also argued that Kanu could not be linked to insecurity in the South-East, noting that violence in the region escalated while he was in solitary confinement at the DSS facility.
“It was Mazi Nnamdi Kanu who was attacked by the Nigerian military during Operation Python Dance. It was IPOB members who were massacred in Nkpor, Aba, Onitsha, Emene, and other locations. Yet not one security operative has been held accountable,” the group stated.
IPOB described Kanu as a “prisoner of conscience” and called on the international community to intervene. It reaffirmed its commitment to peaceful agitation and pursuit of a UN-supervised referendum.
‘This isn’t judgment but vengeance’ — MASSOB
MASSOB, in a statement by its leader, Uchenna Madu, described the verdict as “vengeance from a man acting out a script rooted in hatred and jealousy against Ndigbo.”
The group accused the Federal Government and the trial judge of pursuing a dangerous and premeditated agenda against the Igbo nation.
MASSOB questioned how a Boko Haram co-founder, Mamman Nur, allegedly responsible for thousands of deaths, received only a five-year sentence, while Kanu was slammed with life imprisonment.
“The real crime of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was his bold exposure of the radical Islamic jihad consuming Nigeria and the government’s symbiotic relationship with jihadist elements,” MASSOB claimed.
The group urged the United States to intervene to secure justice for Kanu and the Igbo people, insisting that the judgment was an attack on the entire South-East.
“This injustice is not only against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu; it is against Ndigbo. The Igbo nation has been sentenced to life imprisonment in Nigeria,” it said.
