The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed group Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to life imprisonment over terrorism offences.

Kanu stood trial for seven-count charges of terrorism brought against him by the Federal Government. Delivering judgment on Thursday, November 20, 2025, Justice James Omotosho pronounced the Biafran agitator convicted on all charges.

Despite the potential for a death sentence on counts one, four, five, and six, the judge upheld the law and sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment, demonstrating a commitment to justice.

He held that the prosecution had successfully established every allegation, while the defendant offered no credible defence and “deliberately refused” to challenge the evidence presented in court.

The judge added that the IPOB leader was “a person who cannot be allowed to remain in the company of sane minds,” while describing him as an “international terrorist.”

“I hereby sentence the convict to life imprisonment for counts one, four, five, and six, instead of a death sentence,” Omotosho ruled.

“With respect to Count Three, he is hereby sentenced to 20 years imprisonment without the option of a fine.

“For Count Seven, he is sentenced to five years’ imprisonment without the option ofa fine. To extend the mercy, I hereby order that the sentence shall run concurrently.”

On his decision not to hand the convict a death penalty, the judge cited a biblical verse that espouses the virtue of mercy, coupled with the fact that capital punishment is now being frowned upon by the international community.

Before the sentencing, the Federal Government, through its senior counsel in the matter, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), had asked for the death penalty.

“The punishment prescribed for the offences in Counts One, Two, Four, Five and Six, pursuant to Section 12H of the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act 2013, is death,” he noted.

“With all sense of humility, I say as a prosecutor that this court has no discretion in that regard.

“The only sentence Your Lordship can impose for Counts One, Two, Four, Five and Six is death, because the law empowers you to do so, and we expect that you will.”

However, the judge noted that even though Kanu’s crimes merited capital punishment, he opted for a life sentence to show mercy.

Governor Chukwuma Soludo has secured a return to office after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him the winner of the November 8, 2025, Anambra State governorship election. The results announced by the electoral umpire showed that the incumbent governor recorded a landslide victory, sweeping all the 21 local government areas of the South-East State. In the early hours of Sunday, November 9, the State Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Professor Omoregie Edoba, declared Soludo the winner of the exercise after collating results from the state’s local government areas.

“I hereby declare that Soludo Chukwuma Charles of the APGA, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Edoba said.

The final tally showed that the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate garnered 422,664 votes, pulverising his closest challenger, the All Progressives Congress (APC) flag-bearer, Nicholas Ukachukwu, who polled 99,445 votes.

Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) came a distant third with 37,753 votes, while John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) scored 8,208 votes.

Labour Party’s George Moghalu and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Jude Ezenwafor, scored 10,576 votes and 1,401 votes, respectively. Peter Obi, a former Governor of the State and Labour Party’s presidential candidate in 2023, couldn’t bring his popularity to bear in the election.

Obi, who had spearheaded Moghalu’s campaign, not only failed to secure a victory for his preferred candidate at his polling unit, but the Labour Party’s total votes of 10,576 also fell way short of expectations.

Results from Polling Unit 019, Umudimakasi, Amatutu village, where Obi voted, showed that the APC recorded 73 votes, defeating the Labour Party, which polled 57 votes.

The Department of State Services (DSS) has filed a five-count charge against Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), alongside tech giants X Corp and Meta Inc., at the Federal High Court in Abuja, over social media posts deemed defamatory to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The DSS, represented by a team of lawyers led by Muhammed Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions at the Ministry of Justice, accused Sowore of publishing “false, malicious and inciting” statements about the President through his official X and Facebook accounts.

The agency had earlier issued Sowore a one-week ultimatum, which expired on September 8, demanding he delete the posts. Both Sowore and the social media platforms failed to comply.

One of the charges read: “That you, Omoyele Sowore… did use your official X handle page, @YeleSowore, to send out a message… ‘THIS CRIMINAL @ OFFICIAL PBAT ACTUALLY WENT TO BRAZIL TO STATE THAT THERE IS NO MORE CORRUPTION UNDER HIS REGIME IN NIGERIA. WHAT AUDACITY TO LIE SHAMELESSLY!’, which you know the said message to be false but posted it for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in the country.”

The charges, filed under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act 2024 and the Criminal Code Act, accuse Sowore of spreading false information, defamation, and attempting to incite public fear

The fifth count specifically alleges he intended to cause public disturbance by posting inflammatory remarks against the President.

The DSS also named X Corp and Meta Inc. as co-defendants, holding them responsible for failing to delete Sowore’s accounts despite official demands.

Sowore, a known critic of successive Nigerian governments, has insisted he is prepared to face trial.

“I will be available whenever the case is assigned,” he said in response to the charges.

The case is expected to test the limits of online expression, government authority over social media platforms, and Nigeria’s cybercrime laws in an era of growing digital activism