MASSOB Condemns Nnamdi Kanu’s Sentence, Says Verdict Targets Igbo Nation

|By Adejumo Adekunle

The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has denounced the judgment that convicted the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, branding the ruling unjust, discriminatory, and politically charged.

In a statement issued on Friday, MASSOB leader, Comrade Uchenna Madu, declared that the verdict delivered by Justice James Omotosho amounted to “a life imprisonment sentence on Ndigbo in Nigeria.” He argued that the decision was driven by prejudice and entrenched bias.

Madu accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration of steering Nigeria “into an irredeemable path,” insisting that the judgment reflected vengeance rather than justice. He faulted the presiding judge for alleged bias and tribal sentiment, asserting that Kanu was prosecuted under a repealed anti-terrorism law.

The group further cited the June 2025 ruling by Kenyan High Court Justice Anthony Mrima, which held that Kanu’s 2021 rendition from Kenya violated his fundamental rights. MASSOB also referenced findings from the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2022 and 2025, both of which classified Kanu’s detention as arbitrary and called for his release.

Contrasting Kanu’s sentence with the reported five-year term given to Mamman Nur, a Boko Haram co-founder linked to mass killings, MASSOB argued that the disparity exposes deep-rooted injustice in Nigeria’s judicial system. The group also noted that the United States has repeatedly clarified since 2017 that it does not recognise IPOB as a terrorist organisation.

Describing the ruling as a broader assault on the Igbo people, MASSOB stated: “This injustice is not only against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu; it is against Ndigbo. Ndigbo have been sentenced to life imprisonment in Nigeria.”