Kanu Heads To Appeal Court, Seeks Acquittal Over Terrorism Charges
By TINA TOLUTOPE
THE leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has formally approached the Court of Appeal to challenge his conviction and life sentence for terrorism-related offences handed down by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Kanu, who is currently serving his sentence at the National Correctional Centre in Sokoto, filed a notice of appeal on Wednesday 4 February 2026, listing the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the respondent. His appeal seeks to overturn the judgment delivered on 20 November 2025, in charge number FHC/ABG/CR/383/2015.
Reliefs Sought at the Appeal Court
In the notice, Kanu urged the Court of Appeal to allow his appeal and issue an order quashing his conviction on all seven counts. He also requested the appellate court to set aside the life sentence imposed by the trial court and enter a verdict discharging and acquitting him of all charges.
Additionally, the appellant sought “such further orders as the Court of Appeal may deem fit to make” in the circumstances of the case.
Key Grounds of Appeal
The appeal is anchored on 22 grounds, with Kanu contending that the trial judge committed multiple errors of law. Among his arguments is that the Federal High Court ignored his preliminary objections and pending bail application, and proceeded to convict him despite an earlier ruling of the Court of Appeal which had declared previous proceedings in the case a nullity.
He further argued that the trial court failed to address the procedural implications of the disrupted 2017 trial, which was halted after security operatives allegedly invaded his residence in Abia State.
Kanu also accused the trial judge of misdirecting himself by treating his absence from Nigeria—after fleeing the country in 2017—as conduct adverse to his defence.
Other grounds include claims that he was convicted under a repealed law, subjected to double jeopardy through overlapping charges, and sentenced without consideration of mitigation or the opportunity for allocutus, a defendant’s right to address the court before sentencing.
Background to the Case
Kanu was first arrested in October 2015 and charged with offences including treasonable felony and unlawful possession of arms. He was granted bail in 2017 but later fled Nigeria after alleging that soldiers attacked his family home.
In June 2021, he was rearrested in Kenya and returned to Nigeria, where he was re-arraigned on seven terrorism-related counts.
The case was reassigned to Justice James Omotosho in March 2025 following earlier judicial recusals. After the prosecution closed its case, Kanu filed a no-case submission, which was dismissed. He later dismissed his legal team and refused to open his defence.
On 20 November 2025, the court convicted him on all counts and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
