IPOB: Again, Kanu Insists “No Case”, As Sowore Reveals Plot To Sentence Him To Death

Detained Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu has until November 7 to defend terrorism charges against him, according to Justice James Omotosho of the Federal high Court in Abuja, presiding over the case.

The judge gave the directive on Wednesday even as Kanu reiterated yesterday in the country that he has nothing to defend, and has no case to answer on the charges of terrorism and treason preferred against him by the federal government.

The IPOB strongman had two weeks ago sacked his lawyers, including Kanu Agabi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, after which he made a ‘no case’ submission before the Justice Omotosho-led court.

Reacting to the judge’s order to defend himself, Kanu who has been in detention since 2021 said he could not be tried under the current terrorism law in the country.

“The Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act has been repealed. I cannot put in defence under a repealed law. I won’t do that,” he said.

While offering Kanu another opportunity, Justice Omotosho, said his decision was based on the interest of justice and to the nation.

Meanwhile, a human Rights Activist, Omoyele Sowore, said on Wednesday that the federal government has concluded plans to sentence Kanu to death following his “no case’ submission in the court.

Sowore, in a statement posted on his verified X account on Wednesday, noted that the plan of the federal government is to either sentence him to death or condemn him to life imprisonment.

Part of the message reads: “For the avoidance of doubt and to alert the public, it has become clear that a secret decision has long been reached within the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration regarding the fate of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

“The plan, devised through a high-level political conspiracy, is to either sentence him to death or condemn him to life imprisonment. This outcome, predetermined far in advance, is now being dressed up in the guise of judicial procedure.”

Sowore alleged that Justice James Omotosho is expected to conclude Kanu’s trial by declaring that his refusal to open his defence amounts to an admission of guilt, a convenient interpretation designed to seal a verdict already agreed upon behind closed doors.

He said the ruling is anticipated this November, a month that bears a haunting historical precedent, one of Nigeria’s most haunting tragedies. “It was in November 1995 that the military tribunal of General Sani Abacha sentenced Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists to death, a sentence carried out with ruthless precision.

“Today, three decades later, Nigeria appears to be standing at the same moral crossroads. Only the year has changed; this is 2025, not 1995, but the machinery of repression grinds on. 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.”

Following his arrest in Kenya On 27 June 2021, the IPOB leader has been detained and prosecuted  by the DSS on terrorism and treason related  charges.

Not a few Nigerians have however called for his release in the spirit of reconciliation and peace, particularly in Nigeria’s south east.