The Federal High Court in Abuja found Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), guilty of terrorism‐related charges and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
The judge, James Omotosho, declared: “The court finds that the defendant … is an international terrorist and must be treated accordingly.”
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, but the judge opted for life imprisonment instead.
Kanu, who has dual British‐Nigerian citizenship, dismissed his legal team, elected to represent himself, and was expelled from the courtroom after disruptive behaviour.
His group, IPOB, was designated a terrorist organisation by Nigeria in 2017 and has been accused of enforcing “sit‐at‐home” orders in the south-east, linked to hundreds of deaths.
The case taps into deep‐seated roots of secessionist aspirations: the short‐lived Biafran War (1967-1970) in eastern Nigeria, during which millions died, after a failed attempt to form the independent state of Biafra.
