Overview
- A Federal High Court in Abuja convicted Kanu on seven counts and imposed life imprisonment, ruling the prosecution proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
- IPOB condemned the verdict, asserted its commitment to peaceful self-determination, and urged a United Nations–supervised referendum.
- The judge cited allegations that Kanu enforced Monday stay-at-home orders, instructed followers on making bombs for government targets, and incited violence.
- The court rejected Kanu’s claim that the charges were based on a repealed counterterrorism law.
- Kanu was first arrested in 2015, fled after bail in 2017, and was brought back to Nigeria in 2021 to face trial as authorities continue to brand IPOB a terrorist group tied to attacks.