Human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, on Thursday reacted to the conviction of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, on terrorism related charges.
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja found Kanu guilty on all seven charges filed against him.
Reacting, Sowore accused the Federal Government of executing a predetermined political script” in the conviction of Kanu.
He also insisted that the judgment to be delivered by Justice James Omotosho was decided long before the court sat.
In a post on his X handle, Sowore said he had warned as far back as November 5, 2025, that the outcome of Kanu’s trial had been sealed by what he described as the Bola Tinubu regime, alleging a high-level conspiracy to either sentence Kanu to death or to life imprisonment.
According to him, credible information from insiders revealed that the government had long reached a secret decision regarding the fate of Nnamdi Kanu even before judicial processes were concluded.
“The trial of Nnamdi Kanu has ceased to be about justice; it is now a test of conscience for the Nigerian state and its citizens alike.
“This outcome, predetermined far in advance, is now being dressed up in the guise of judicial procedure.
“What we witnessed today was not justice, it was the execution of a political decision already taken long before the court sat, long before arguments were heard, and long before any evidence was considered,” he wrote.
He drew a historical parallel to November 1995, when Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight Ogoni activists were sentenced to death by the military regime of the late General Sani Abacha, warning that Nigeria was standing at the same moral crossroads three decades later.
He also accused Justice Omotosho of interpreting Kanu’s refusal to open his defence as an admission of guilt, a move he said was expected as part of the script agreed upon behind closed doors.
The Eagle Online reports that Justice Omotosho sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment, adding that he should have sentenced him to death.
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Justice Omotosho delivered the judgment on Thursday in the terrorism case against Kanu, who has been on trial since 2015.
He said this was based on the fact that death sentence was going into extinction worldwide and because the Holy books recommends mercy.
He said that he should be kept in a facility suitable for his behaviour as Kuje Correctional Centre, which would not serve the purpose his sentence was meant to achieve.
He said the convict must not be allowed to go near any electronic device except he is monitored closely by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
He ordered that Kanu should be kept in protective custody in any part of the country.
Omotosho also ruled that the transmitter Kanu used for his broadcasts be forfeited to the Federal Government.
He said if there is no appeal in the case, other equipment used by Kanu should be forfeited to the government.
