The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has formally appealed his conviction and life imprisonment sentence, marking a major new phase in the long-running legal battle surrounding the pro-Biafra agitator.
Kanu’s lead counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, disclosed the development on Wednesday via his verified X handle, confirming that the appeal was personally filed by Kanu at the Court of Appeal, Abuja. He described the filing as a comprehensive challenge to both the conviction and sentence handed down by the Federal High Court.
“The mother of all appeals has been filed, as Mazi Nnamdi Kanu personally appeals against his conviction and sentence today, the 4th of February,” Ejimakor wrote.
Court documents indicate that the Notice of Appeal was filed on February 4, 2026, contesting the judgment delivered on November 20, 2025, by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court. The trial court had convicted Kanu on seven terrorism-related charges and sentenced him to life imprisonment, with all sentences ordered to run concurrently.
Kanu was found guilty of offences linked to alleged broadcasts deemed inciting, directives on bomb-making, and the unlawful importation and use of a radio transmitter. The prosecution argued that the actions threatened national security, a position accepted by the trial court.
However, the defence insists the appeal is far from a routine post-conviction filing. Although the Notice of Appeal contains 22 grounds, Ejimakor said the issues raised were carefully distilled after an exhaustive legal review.
According to the defence team, more than 1,000 alleged procedural and legal defects were initially identified during an internal assessment of the trial. These were narrowed down to 101 core infractions before being further streamlined to 22 grounds to comply with appellate rules and avoid unnecessary verbosity.
The lawyers said the strategy was designed to present the Court of Appeal with a coherent picture of what they describe as cumulative systemic failures in the trial process, rather than burden the court with an excessive number of complaints.
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Central to the appeal is the trial court’s alleged failure to address the legal implications of the 2017 military invasion of Kanu’s home in Afara-Ukwu, Abia State, known as Operation Python Dance II. The defence argues that the operation, which reportedly led to deaths and destruction, forced Kanu to flee Nigeria for his safety.
They contend that this compelled absence was wrongly portrayed during trial as voluntary “flight” and used to draw adverse inferences against him. The appeal also alleges multiple breaches of Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, including the court’s failure to hear a pending preliminary objection, leaving a bail application unresolved, and delivering judgment without allowing the defence to file a final written address.
The Court of Appeal is yet to fix a date for hearing the appeal.
