The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced Biafra agitator Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to life imprisonment for acts of terrorism, bringing his decade-long trial to a close. Presiding judge James Omotosho convicted Mr. Kanu on all seven amended charges filed by the Nigerian government on Thursday, November 20, 2025. While acknowledging the gravity of the offences and Mr. Kanu’s lack of remorse, the judge opted for a life sentence instead of the death penalty, citing scriptural persuasion for mercy from the book of Matthew in the Bible.

Mr. Omotosho imposed life imprisonment for counts 1, 4, 5, and 6. On count 3, he received 20 years’ imprisonment without an option of fine, and five years on count 7. All sentences are to run concurrently. The court also ordered that Mr. Kanu be held in protective custody in any suitable custodial centre in the country, noting his “tendency towards violence” and the need to prevent external attacks due to the harm he caused. Furthermore, he is to be restricted from using digital devices, with any limited access requiring guidance from the National Security Adviser. Radio transmitters, which the prosecution alleged he smuggled into the country in 2015, were ordered forfeited to the federal government.

The conviction mirrors that of another Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, who was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment by a Finnish court on September 1 for similar offences involving the use of terrorism to pursue Biafran independence. Both men were accused of inciting violence, issuing death threats to security personnel and their families, and ordering the destruction of government facilities and foreign embassies through online broadcasts.

During the five-hour judgment, Judge Omotosho emphasized that the prosecution’s evidence stood unchallenged because Mr. Kanu failed to enter a defence. He recalled Mr. Kanu’s unruly behaviour throughout the trial, which began in 2015, including his aggressive insistence on Thursday that the court could not deliver its scheduled judgment. Operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) had to eject him from the courtroom, prompting the judge to deliver the verdict in his absence. Describing Mr. Kanu as “full of arrogance, cocky, aggressive, full of himself, unremorseful and unmindful of the consequences of his actions,” Mr. Omotosho nevertheless said the court would temper justice with mercy, guided by Matthew 22:23, noting that “the death penalty globally is frowned upon.”

Mr. Kanu was convicted of several terrorism charges, including making broadcasts intended to intimidate the population, inciting violence against security personnel, their families, foreign embassies, and government officials, and enforcing sit-at-home orders in the South-east. The court cited his broadcasts threatening that “Somalia would be a small thing compared to what would happen to Nigeria,” and “the army of Nigeria will die in Biafra land.” He was also found guilty of belonging to the proscribed IPOB, designated a terrorist organisation in September 2017, and of illegally importing a Tram 50L radio transmitter concealed in household items in 2015, for which he received a five-year sentence.

Earlier, Judge Omotosho dismissed Mr. Kanu’s preliminary objections to the trial. He rejected arguments that his extraordinary rendition from Kenya in June 2021 invalidated the charges, citing the Supreme Court’s December 2023 ruling. Although the Supreme Court condemned the rendition as illegal, unfair, and oppressive, it held that it did not affect the validity of the charges or the Federal High Court’s jurisdiction. Mr. Omotosho likened this to the Ker-Frisbie doctrine in the United States. He also dismissed claims that Mr. Kanu was being tried under a repealed law, explaining that the Terrorism Prevention Act 2013 was in force when the alleged offences were committed between 2018 and 2021, and that the Terrorism Prevention Act 2022 included a saving provision that preserved ongoing proceedings. Mr. Kanu’s claim of being medically unfit for trial was also dismissed after an NMA panel declared him fit in October 2025.

The case’s 10-year journey involved four trial judges, with Mr. Omotosho taking over in March 2025. Mr. Kanu was first detained in 2015 and granted bail in April 2017 by Justice Binta Nyako, but he fled the country following a military invasion of his home in September 2017. He was re-arrested in Kenya in June 2021 and brought back to Nigeria, halting his trial for about four years. The charges, initially treasonable felony, later evolved into terrorism indictments to include his inciting broadcasts. Though the Court of Appeal struck out the charges in October 2022 due to the illegality of his rendition, the Supreme Court overturned the decision in December 2023 and ordered the trial to continue.

After the prosecution closed its case with five witnesses in June, Mr. Kanu filed a no-case submission, which Judge Omotosho dismissed in September 2025, ruling that he had a case to answer. Mr. Kanu then disengaged his lawyers in October 2025 and insisted on defending himself, repeatedly refusing to enter a defence and arguing that there was “no valid charge” against him. This led the court to rule in November 2025 that he had waived his right to defend himself.

Reactions to the verdict were mixed. Aloy Ejimakor, Mr. Kanu’s former legal consultant, expressed sadness, describing it as “a very bad day for the judiciary,” and insisting that the prosecution failed to link the broadcasts to criminal acts. He argued that statements such as “Don’t be silly” or “Go and die” were “mere utterances” rather than incitement. Ejimakor and Nnaemeka Ejiofor announced plans to appeal and urged supporters to remain calm. Earlier, prosecution counsel Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, had argued for the death penalty for five counts, citing Section 12(h) of the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act 2013 and the deaths of over 75 security personnel attributed to Mr. Kanu’s activities.

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who represents Mr. Kanu’s constituency, condemned the conviction as a “preconceived plot against the South-east.” He pointed to the disparity between Mr. Kanu’s treatment and the amnesty and peace deals granted to armed groups and militants in other regions, describing it as “glaring injustice.” Abaribe appealed for calm and urged President Bola Tinubu to act decisively in the interest of equity and national cohesion.

In anticipation of the verdict, the Nigerian Army’s 82 Division dismissed a circulating fake “sit-at-home” order for Thursday, assuring South-east residents of full security. Lieutenant Colonel Olabisi Ayeni stated that such threats were baseless and would not disrupt peace, emphasizing that security forces were deployed to protect lives and property and that freedom of movement remained guaranteed. The army further warned that criminal elements attempting to enforce the purported order would face decisive action.