Family, group kick as Nnamdi Kanu gets life imprisonment

•We’ll appeal judgment, says legal consultant

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja, Jude Chinedu, Enugu and Okey Sampson, Umuahia

Angry reactions have trailed the life imprisonment handed down to leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, with prominent Igbo figures and groups describing the judgment as unjust, provocative and a threat to the fragile peace in the South-East.

Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court delivered the judgment yesterday, 10 years after Kanu’s trial began. Kanu, who was arrested in Kenya in 2021 under controversial circumstances and brought back to Nigeria, was convicted on all seven terrorism-related charges despite pleading not guilty.

Counsel to Kanu, Aloy Ejimakor, has vowed to challenge the life sentence.

“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,” the lawyer said after the sentence.

Ejimakor described the judgment as “a symbol of the travesty of justice that everybody has suspected,” and argued that the conviction lacked a legal basis.

“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 maintained that the decision “cannot be grounded in logic” and vowed to resist 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.

Hope not lost – Kalu

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu,  has said all hope is not lost in the case of the IPOB’s leader.

Kalu, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu,  expressed optimism that the IPOB leader will be free through a political approach.

The deputy speaker, who stated that a political solution is being explored, expressed  confidence that  President Bola Tinubu would  listen to the pleas of well-meaning Igbo leaders on the matter.

“It is now time to explore political solutions that had been hindered because the matter was before the court. But now that the court has finished, it is time to intensify requests for the President’s intervention and we are sure that the President is not averse to it. We are going to get it. All hope is not lost. Our people should remain calm.”

More reactions

In his reaction, Secretary General of the Alaigbo Development Foundation, Abia Onyike, said the ruling should not be allowed to stand.  “The judgment needs to be appealed. The case of Nnamdi Kanu requires a political and not a judicial solution.” He insisted that only dialogue, not punishment, can bring lasting peace to the region.

Emeritus Professor of Political Science and respected Igbo statesman, Obasi Igwe, also dismissed the ruling entirely, insisting it was predetermined and lacked any sense of justice.

“It is no judgement; it’s a preconceived delivery. No one is deceived. Nnamdi Kanu knew in advance that he was accused of things he didn’t do, that didn’t happen, and that he would expect no justice from those who see him as disrupting their enslavement and impoverishment of Nigerians.”

Prof. Igwe questioned the foundation of the charges brought against Kanu, arguing that there was no evidence linking him to any acts of violence.

“Was Nnamdi Kanu privy to the movement and itinerary of government officials so as to arrange the equipment to monitor from abroad or from prison and kill them in Imo or any other state? It’s all a farcical act of crude vengeance to break his will and, maybe, to orchestrate a reason for renewed sponsored killings of Easterners.”

He went further to challenge the narrative that the South-East is facing an insurgency. “There has never been the alleged ‘insurgency’ in the East, by which a federally sponsored Unknown Gunmen and official armies join forces to decimate the Igbo populations. The East had always been a bastion of peace until federal authorities decided against its continuation. So, no one would start a war because of the unjust sentencing of Nnamdi Kanu.”

According to him, the ruling is designed to provoke unrest and justify future state-backed attacks on the region. “This so-called ‘judgement’ is a sinister ploy to procure a casus belli for renewed official attacks on the Igbo. ‘Unknown Gunmen’ would be ready to start attacking police stations, and vengeance would be rained on innocent people who become ‘the insurgents’ protesting Kanu’s unlawful incarceration,” he warned. Prof. Igwe urged caution, calling on Igbo leaders and citizens to resist being drawn into violence. He said, “Igbo leaders, elites, all men and women of goodwill should continue demanding the unconditional release, compensation and rehabilitation of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

“The unjust sentencing is the product of a charade already condemned by the civilized international community, and a trap to divert attention from the murderous events in the North and Middle Belt to the East once again. Whether or not they do it, the Igbo shall not give them the excuse to do so.”

He concluded that Kanu is innocent of all accusations. “Nnamdi Kanu is neither terrorist nor criminal, and should be released unconditionally; he never fought against Nigeria nor harmed anyone. Igbo should be peaceful, and let the lies continue to insult the intelligence of everybody that Nnamdi Kanu was a terrorist and that Nigeria, a den of terrorists destroying peoples and occupying and renaming communities, at long last found one ‘Igbo terrorist’ to humiliate,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) has expressed what it described as deep shock and disappointment over the ruling.

In a statement by its President General, Comrade Goodluck Ibem, the group said the judgment has reopened old wounds and threatens the fragile stability the region had begun to regain.

“The Coalition of South East Youth Leaders receives with deep shock and disappointment the reported sentencing of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to life imprisonment. This judgment, rather than heal wounds or promote national unity, has reopened deep scars in the hearts of many Igbo youths who have always hoped for a peaceful, political resolution to the agitation,” the statement reads.

It warned that the ruling risks reversing the calm gradually returning to the region. “It threatens the fragile peace that was gradually returning to the South East. Many young people had begun to embrace calm, hopeful that ongoing political and diplomatic efforts would lead to justice and fairness.”

COSEYL also criticised the government’s reliance on force rather than dialogue. “The judgment signals that constructive dialogue is being sidelined in favour of hardline legalism, a path that has historically failed to resolve deeply rooted national grievances.

“It also undermines the genuine efforts of respected Igbo leaders, traditional rulers, clerics and stakeholders who have consistently advocated for a political solution in the spirit of reconciliation, equity and national unity,” the group said.

The body called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene immediately, saying, “We therefore call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to consider a political solution in the interest of national peace, unity and coexistence.”

COSEYL also demanded that elected officials from the region respond to the development. “The National Assembly and the South East Governors Forum should urgently meet and review the consequences of this judgment, and make clear their stance on behalf of their people,” it stated.

The group reaffirmed its commitment to peaceful engagement but described the ruling as a troubling reminder of Nigeria’s deep divisions.

A public servant in Umuahia, Abia State, Chidiebere Madu said the ruling did not follow the laid down judicial rules.

“The judge, to the best of my knowledge, did not play to the rules of the game. He had from the beginning of the case shown the impression that he was out to convict Nnamdi Kanu. So, nobody is surprised at the outcome of the verdict because we knew it was predetermined.”

Okorie Mba from Umuhu-Ezechi, Bende Local Government Area claimed the conviction was a script written somewhere and given to the Judge to deliver.

Okorie said it was unfortunate the Judge could convict Kanu on charges that have no place in the nation’s status books.

“Justice Omotosho, I must say, was biased in ruling. In fact right from the beginning of the case, he did not fail to show where he was heading to.

Okorie urged President Bola Tinubu to, without delay, release Kanu unconditionally for justice and peace to reign.

Ibe Okoroafor from Umuahia expressed unhappiness over the ruling, although he said he did not expect anything less from the Judge.