Court Convicts IPOB Leader Nnamdi Kanu for Terrorism After Decade-Long Trial

|By Chinwendu Nwani

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday convicted the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, for terrorism after a protracted 10-year legal battle with the Nigerian government.

Justice James Omotosho delivered the ruling in a detailed judgment, declaring that evidence before the court proved Kanu committed acts of terrorism. “It is clear from the evidence that the defendant committed a terrorism act. The defendant is convicted in respect of count one,” the judge ruled.

At the time of filing this report, the court was still addressing other charges, including Kanu’s alleged role in declaring sit-at-home orders across the South-East.

Drama unfolded earlier in the courtroom when Kanu disrupted proceedings, insisting that no judgment should be delivered until he was shown the specific law he allegedly violated. He maintained that the court lacked the jurisdiction to try him before being escorted out for unruly behaviour.

Justice Omotosho had earlier outlined that the court’s decision would focus on four key issues.

Kanu was first arrested in 2015 on charges bordering on treason and fled the country before being rearrested in Kenya in 2021. His conviction comes months after the leader of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile, Simon Ekpa, received a six-year jail term in Finland for inciting violence in Nigeria.