US EditionNnamdi Kanu: Nigerian Separatist Leader Sentenced to Life for Terrorism
Nnamdi Kanu was convicted on seven terrorism counts for inciting violence through broadcasts, receiving life imprisonment instead of death, after a decade-long trial, court ruled.
- On Thursday, the Federal High Court in Abuja convicted Nnamdi Kanu on all the seven counts, ending a trial that lasted over 10 years, and Judge James Omotosho sentenced him to life for five counts and 20 years and five years for the others.
- The court found that Kanu's broadcasts and orders incited violence as part of his push for a separate Biafra state, and he was re-arrested and brought from Kenya in 2021 after using London-based Radio Biafra to press for independence.
- Kanu had dismissed his lawyers, refused defence witnesses, and was removed for unruly behaviour before Judge James Omotosho said, `His intention was quite clear as he believed in violence. These threats of violence were nothing but terrorist acts` and called him "very cocky, arrogant".
- Prosecutors had urged the death sentence but the judge imposed life imprisonment, while the Federal Government of Nigeria sought forfeiture of Kanu's broadcast equipment and device limits; analysts warn this may inflame separatist unrest after economic protests cost 7.6 trillion naira.
- Calls for Biafra independence date back to 1967 when a civil war left up to one million dead; Kanu gained a following via Radio Biafra and Simon Ekpa was sentenced in Finland.
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120 Articles
Biafran separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu was sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday, November 20th. He is found guilty of "terrorism" by the Nigerian justice, who did not follow the prosecutor who claimed the death penalty. The hearing at the Federal High Court in Abuja was emulated by incidents and Nnamdi Kanu did not attend the statement of the judgement.
UPDATE 3-Nigerian court jails separatist leader Kanu for life over terrorism
Judge James Omotosho said prosecutors proved that his broadcasts and orders to his now banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group incited deadly attacks on security forces and citizens. The violence was part of his push for an independent Biafra state for the ethnic Igbo-dominated region which attempted to secede as the Republic of Biafra in 1967, triggering a three-year civil war that killed more than 1 million people.
Pulse Nigeria
Nnamdi Kanu Escapes Death Penalty, Bags Life Imprisonment For Terrorism Offences
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed group Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to life imprisonment over terrorism offences. Kanu stood trial for seven-count charges of terrorism brought against him by the Federal Government. Delivering judgement on Thursday, November 20, 2025, Justice James Omotosho pronounced the Biafran agitator convicted on all charges. Kanu Escapes Death Penalty ALS…
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