“No safe society can tolerate this man” Judge condemns Kanu’s calls to kill, Burn
By Passman Akpos
The Federal High Court in Abuja has issued one of its most scathing judicial assessments yet of the actions of detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu — declaring that his broadcasts “significantly contributed” to the killings of security personnel and destruction of public infrastructure during the 2020 EndSARS unrest and subsequent waves of violence across southern Nigeria.
Delivering judgment, Justice James Omotosho relied heavily on video and audio recordings tendered by the prosecution, which the court said contained explicit calls for violence, deadly ambushes, and large-scale destruction of government assets.
According to the court, one broadcast captured Kanu urging a caller to deploy weapons against security operatives:“Use those guns to kill one or two of the army officers. Take their guns and begin to kill other people… Kill the Army whenever you see them.”Justice Omotosho ruled that the incitement was “clear, direct, and intended to provoke violent attacks on security personnel.”
In another widely referenced broadcast, allegedly made on 20 October 2020, Kanu was said to have called for the burning of federal infrastructure in Lagos, including hotels and the Lagos airport:“That very hotel must be brought down… I want Lagos to be on flame… Burn down the Lagos airport… Every federal government property in Lagos will be burnt.”
The court held that several of the facilities named by Kanu were indeed destroyed during the riots, with pictorial evidence tendered as Exhibits PWD2 and PWD2A showing razed police stations, vandalised federal buildings, and torched transport facilities in Lagos and other southern states.
A TRAIL OF DEATH AND DEVASTATION
Prosecution witness PW5 testified that 128 police officers, 37 military personnel and 10 other security operatives were killed in the violence allegedly linked to the incitement.A staggering 164 police stations were also destroyed.
While noting that Kanu could not be blamed for every violent incident recorded during the unrest, the court stressed that the evidence proved he “contributed significantly to the killing of security operatives and destruction of public property.”
Justice Omotosho described Kanu’s utterances as:“Barbaric, unconscionable, and aimed at causing anarchy… He turned himself into a tyrant who could take life any time he pleased. Such person cannot be allowed to remain in a safe society.”
COURT CONVICTS KANU ON TERRORISM CHARGES
The judgment forms part of the court’s decision on the terrorism charges filed against the IPOB leader.Kanu was earlier convicted on count one, and on Thursday, the court delivered another major blow — convicting him on count two under Section 16 of the Terrorism Prevention Act 2013.
The section carries a penalty of life imprisonment or death.
At the heart of count two is Kanu’s declaration of the controversial “sit-at-home” order across the Southeast — which the court ruled amounted to a terrorist act because it was enforced through threats and deadly violence.
Justice Omotosho held that Kanu had no constitutional authority to restrict citizens’ movement, stressing that only the President, under Section 305 of the Constitution, can lawfully impose such restrictions during a state of emergency.
PW4, a security operative from Imo State, testified that the Monday sit-at-home paralysed towns, markets, schools and even farmlands for years. He also linked the murder of former presidential aide Ahmed Gulak to armed men enforcing the order. Gulak was shot dead near the airport on May 30, 2021, with a medical report tendered as Exhibit PWK confirming gunshot wounds inflicted by individuals believed to be members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
The court described the ESN as operating under Kanu’s directives as the leader of the proscribed IPOB.
“The declaration of a sit-at-home without any constitutional power, accompanied by threats, is a terrorist act,” the judge ruled, noting that Kanu failed to present any defence to counter the prosecution’s case.
“CONSEQUENTLY, THE DEFENDANT IS HEREBY CONVICTED”
With the prosecution deemed to have proven the essential ingredients of count two beyond reasonable doubt, Justice Omotosho formally convicted the IPOB leader — clearing the path for a sentencing decision that could mean life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Sentencing is expected to follow in the coming days as the court prepares its final orders on the remaining counts.
The ruling marks one of the most consequential judicial pronouncements yet in the long-running legal battle between the Federal Government and the IPOB leader whose broadcasts, the court insists, unleashed waves of violence that scarred communities across southern Nigeria.
