• Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of terrorism
• The sentencing was announced on Thursday, November 20, 2025, by Justice James Omotosho of the federal high court, Abuja
• Legit.ng reports that Kanu was handed life imprisonment for counts 1, 4, 5 and 6 of the seven-count charges

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering judicial matters in Nigeria and Africa.

FCT, Abuja – Justice James Omotosho of the federal high court, Abuja, has sentenced Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to life imprisonment.

As reported by Vanguard, Justice Omotosho delivered the judgment on Thursday afternoon, November 20, 2025, four years after Kanu was arrested in Kenya under contentious circumstances and brought back to Nigeria.

Judgment announced in Nnamdi Kanu’s case

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Channels Television also noted Justice Omotosho’s verdict.

Apart from the life sentence he bagged, Legit.ng gathered that Kanu was also handed 20 years’ confinement and five years’ incarceration without the option of a fine.

Delivering judgment, Justice Omotosho of the federal high court Abuja, said:

“I hereby sentence the convict to life imprisonment for counts one, four, five, and six, instead of death sentence.

“With respect to Count Three, he is hereby sentenced to 20 years imprisonment without no option of fine.

“For Count Seven, he is sentenced to five years imprisonment without no option of fine. To extend the mercy, I hereby order that the sentence shall run concurrently.”

Furthermore, the judge ordered that Kanu should be kept in a facility suitable for his behaviour, stating that Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja would not serve the purpose his sentence was meant to achieve.

The judge held that Kanu should be kept in protective custody in any part of Nigeria.

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He stated that he did not sentence Kanu to death because capital punishment was going into extinction worldwide, and also because the Holy books recommend mercy.

Justice Omotosho said:

“Life is sacred to God.”

Kanu always denied the charges and challenged the court’s jurisdiction. At the start of the trial, he sacked his lawyers but refused to defend himself.

He was not in court when the verdict was delivered, after being removed for unruly behaviour.

The rise of Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB

Once a relatively obscure figure, Kanu, 58, came to national prominence in 2009 when he started Radio Biafra, a platform that called for an independent state for the Igbo people, broadcast to Nigeria from London, United Kingdom (UK).

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Though he grew up in Nigeria’s southeast geopolitical zone, where he attended the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Kanu moved to the UK before graduating and acquired British nationality.

In 2012, he set up IPOB, a movement demanding independence for people of Igbo ethnic extraction.

IPOB was banned as a terrorist organisation in 2017. Its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), has been accused of killings and other acts of violence in recent years.

Abia lawmaker pleads for Kanu

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that an Abia state lawmaker in the house of representatives, Obi Aguocha, has pleaded for mercy during Kanu’s final judgment.

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Nnamdi Kanu to appeal life imprisonment judgment, lawyer Ejimakor says

Aguocha, who represents Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South federal constituency, emotionally appealed during the court’s proceedings.

Source: Legit.ng