Overview
- Judge James Omotosho found Kanu guilty on seven counts after ruling that his broadcasts and directives, including stay-at-home orders, incited deadly attacks and showed continuing IPOB membership after its proscription.
- Kanu was removed from the courtroom for an outburst, had dismissed his lawyers, refused to call defense witnesses, and challenged the court’s jurisdiction, so the judgment was delivered in his absence.
- Prosecutors sought the death penalty and detailed killings and destruction tied to incitement, but the court imposed life imprisonment, with additional terms to run concurrently and a 90‑day window to appeal.
- IPOB condemned the verdict and reaffirmed a commitment to peaceful advocacy and a United Nations–supervised referendum, denying that Kanu committed offenses under Nigerian or international law.
- Security was tightened around the Abuja court as analysts warned the ruling could heighten tensions in the southeast, where enforcement of stay-at-home orders has been linked to at least 700 deaths and major economic losses.