ABUJA, Nigeria — Aloy Ejimakor, legal consultant to Nnamdi Kanu, says the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra will appeal the federal high court ruling that sentenced him to life imprisonment on multiple terrorism charges, vowing that the verdict will be overturned.
Ejimakor spoke to journalists on Thursday, November 20, 2025, shortly after Justice James Omotosho delivered the judgment, which imposed life sentences on counts one, four, five and six, alongside additional terms of 20 years on count three and five years on count seven.
All sentences are to run concurrently, with no option of a fine.
The lawyer strongly criticised the ruling, describing it as a dangerous precedent and insisting the defence would head to the court of appeal without delay.
“What kind of precedent is being laid here? We are heading to the court of appeal,” he said.
“The court of appeal is the only court in this country, or the next court in this country, that sits as a jury; we are going to approach justices there to check out what happened in court today. And we are pretty sure the justices will agree with us that today was the symbol of the travesty of justice that everybody has been suspecting.”
Ejimakor said the team would proceed to the supreme court if necessary.
“If the court of appeal disagrees with us, we head to the supreme court; Nnamdi Kanu is not going to stand convicted, he’s going to get overturned.”
He argued that Kanu was effectively convicted for speech, not actions.
“This is the only day I have witnessed a man being convicted for mere pronouncements, just for what he said from his mouth, not what he did with his own hands,” he said.
“How can you convict a man for making a mere broadcast from a location that was never named, and he never tied that broadcast to any single incident of violence, or even someone slapping someone, not to talk of terrorism?”
He described the judgment as “overbroad, cruel and unusual” and inconsistent with the evidence presented in court.
In contrast, Adegboyega Awomolo, senior advocate of Nigeria and lead counsel for the federal government, welcomed the verdict, saying it demonstrated that no individual is above the law.
Awomolo said the judgment had saved the country from the “claws” of the proscribed group.
“Let it be a warning: those who may think they are bigger than Nigeria—Nigeria is bigger than every one of us,” he said.
“The law is bigger than every one of us, and the law will take its course to deal with miscreants, to deal with terrorists, and to deal with criminals. Justice has been done and therefore Nigerians must one way or the other appreciate the judiciary.”
Awomolo said the ruling was another example of the judiciary stepping in during moments of national crisis.
“The judiciary has salvaged Nigeria from the claws, from the oppression of the proscribed IPOB,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the court found Kanu guilty on all seven counts, with the judge ruling that the prosecution had successfully proven every allegation and that Kanu had “deliberately refused” to contest the evidence.
Justice Omotosho described the defendant as “a person who cannot be allowed to remain in the company of sane minds”, adding that Kanu’s claim of being a freedom fighter could not excuse the “brutal force and terrorism” that resulted in the “bloodshed of innocent citizens”.
The defence is expected to file a formal notice of appeal in the coming days.
