Counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, Aloy Ejimakor, has pledged to contest the life sentence issued to the IPOB leader by the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday.
Ejimakor made the commitment shortly after Justice James Omotosho sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment on counts one, four, five, and six, instead of imposing the death penalty. The court also handed Kanu 20 years on Count Three and five years on Count Seven, both without an option of fine. The judge ruled that all sentences would run concurrently.
“We are heading to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal is the only court in this country that sits as a jury. We will ask the justices to check what happened today,” Ejimakor stated after the judgment.
He described the ruling as “a symbol of the travesty of justice that everybody has suspected,” arguing that the conviction lacked legal foundation.
“If the Court of Appeal disagrees with us, we head to the Supreme Court. By God Almighty, Nnamdi Kanu will not stand convicted. Today is the only day I have seen a man convicted for what he said, not what he did.
“The sentence is overboard, cruel and unusual. How can you convict a man for making a broadcast from an unnamed location? He never tied that broadcast to any violence, not even someone slapping someone,” he said.
Ejimakor insisted the decision “cannot be grounded in logic” and vowed to fight it.
“Nobody is going to trample on me. Nobody is going to trample on Nnamdi Kanu. Nnamdi Kanu is not a terrorist. He pursued change. Seeking a separate nation is not a crime.
“In Nigeria today, if someone says, ‘Don’t be silly,’ you get convicted. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu made a broadcast. So what? You convict him for terrorism over words? What precedent is this?” he stated.
Justice Omotosho, while delivering the judgment, said: “I hereby sentence the convict to life imprisonment for Counts One, Four, Five and Six. For Count Three, he is sentenced to 20 years imprisonment without an option of fine. For Count Seven, he is sentenced to five years imprisonment without an option of fine.”
The judge held that Kanu instigated violence through threats, incitement, and directives to his followers, adding that terrorism could not be defended under any legal principle. He also noted that Kanu refused to present a defence and disrupted proceedings.
The prosecution had urged the court to impose the maximum punishment under the Terrorism Prevention Act.
Kanu’s long-running trial began with his arrest in 2015 on charges of treasonable felony and terrorism. He fled the country in 2017 while on bail after a military operation at his residence during “Operation Python Dance.”
He was re-arrested in Kenya in June 2021 under contested circumstances and returned to Nigeria, an action his team described as an “extraordinary rendition.”
Prosecutors later expanded the case to 15 counts, including terrorism and incitement. Kanu’s legal team has repeatedly challenged the legitimacy of the proceedings, citing alleged procedural flaws, jurisdictional issues, and concerns surrounding his extradition.