By Desire Emmanuel
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday sentenced the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, to life imprisonment in the five out of the seven-count charge of terrorism filed against him.
The judge sentenced him to life imprisonment in Counts 1, 4, 5 and 6.
He also sentenced the IPOB leader to 20 years imprisonment and five years imprisonment on Count Seven, with no option of fine.
He said the sentencing shall run concurrently.
Delivering judgment, Justice Omotosho said: “I hereby sentence the convict to life imprisonment for counts one, four, five, and six, instead of death sentence.
“With respect to Count Three, he is hereby sentenced to 20 years imprisonment without option of fine.
“For Count Seven, he is sentenced to five years imprisonment without option of fine. To extend the mercy, I hereby order that the sentence shall run concurrently.”
The judge had earlier on Thursday found him guilty of all the seven-count terrorism charges brought against him by the Federal Government.
In one of the charges, he was found planning to bomb both the United States Embassy and the British High Commission.
The judge also found him guilty of planning to kill the then British High Commissioner, Catriona Lang.
Justice Omotosho had earlier found him guilty of inciting violence during the #EndSARS protest.
The protests, held in Lagos and some other parts of the country, led to the killing of security personnel and destruction of government properties.
The #EndSARS protest started in October 2020, with the main protests taking place from October 8 to October 20, 2020 which was sparked by a viral video showing SARS officers assaulting a young man in Delta State.
Justice Omotosho also found him guilty of various charges bordering on terrorism filed against him.
The judge, while delivering judgment on those charges, said Kanu committed act of terrorism against the Federal Government by making broadcast threatening that people will die and the world will be at a standstill.
The judge said from uncontroverted evidences by the prosecution, it is evident that he he planned to carry out terrorism acts.
