The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of terrorism charges.
Justice James Omotosho, who convicted Nnamdi Kanu, said he was not sentenced to death following appeal to tamper justice with mercy.
Justice Omotosho announced the sentencing on Thursday after hour-long judgment where the IPOB leader was convicted on all the counts of terrorism charges against him by the Department of States Security (DSS), on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
According to the Judge, the convict was sentenced to life imprisonment for count one, two, four, five and six which carry death penalty.
The convict also got jail terms for count three and seven, which according to the judge, will run concurrently.
The Judge held that the threats of violence and killings, including the declaration of sit-at-home in the South-Eastern states of the country, in his many broadcasts, constituted acts of terrorism.
The Court also convicted the IPOB leader on count three that, he (Kanu), on diverse dates between 2018 and 2021, professed himself to be a member of the IPOB, a proscribed organization in Nigeria.
Earlier, Justice Omotosho ordered Kanu to be removed from the courtroom after he became unruly midway into proceedings.
The Judge had ruled and dismissed three fresh motions filed by the IPOB leader after the case was adjourned for judgment and dismissed them for being unmeritorious.
As the Judge moved to deliver the ruling, Kanu argued that the Court could not proceed because he had yet to file his final written address.
Raising his voice, Kanu accused the trial Judge of being biased and claimed that the judge did not know the law.
Meanwhile, Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team has vowed to appeal his conviction, insisting that the judgment did not hold water.
Addressing the press at the Federal High Court premises shortly after Justice James Omotosho delivered the judgment that sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment, his Lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, who was in the Court as a Consultant, said they were heading to the upper Court.
He argued that “a man cannot be convicted for mere spoken words, questioning why that should be the case at the Federal High Court.
“What kind of precedent is being laid here? We are heading to the Court of Appeal”, he said.
“The Court of Appeal is the only Court in this country, or the next Court in this country that sits as a jury. We are going to approach Justices there to check out what happened in Court today.
“And we are pretty sure the Justices will agree with us that today was the symbol of the travesty of justice that everybody has been suspecting”.
He said further: “If the Court of Appeal disagrees with us, we head to the Supreme Court. Nnamdi Kanu is not going to stand convicted. He’s going to get overturned.
“This is the only day I have witnessed a man being convicted for mere pronouncements, just for what he said from his mouth, not what he did with his own hands.
“How can you convict a man for making a mere broadcast from a location that was never named and he never tied that broadcast to any single incident of violence, or even someone slapping someone, not to talk of terrorism”.
Nigerian Tribune, Daily Post
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