Timeframe: 20 November 2025
Location: Federal High Court Abuja
Key Actors: Justice K. Omotosho, Prosecution lead David
Kaswe, DSS witness PW4, IPOB observers
Epigraph:
“The court believes the prosecution has proved its case beyond
reasonable doubt.”
— Justice Omotosho, oral ruling, 20 November 2025 [1].
The Camera Lens
Seven television cameras lined the back wall as Justice Omotosho read a summary of the 430-page judgment. Outside, security agents ringed the court with armored trucks. Inside, IPOB supporters whispered prayers. Then came the verdict: guilty on six counts, including managing a terrorist organization. Sentence: life imprisonment. The courtroom fell silent except for the judge’s pen scratching orders to deny digital access in custody.
Channels Television reported that the court relied heavily on PW4’s testimony alleging Kanu ordered “2,000 human heads” for ESN commander Ikonso’s burial [1]. No physical evidence was produced; no recovered remains were shown. Yet the judge held that the unchallenged testimony remained “credible and plausible.”
The same witness claimed ESN fighters ate human flesh for fortification. Sahara Reporters noted the absence of forensic corroboration—no DNA tests, no photographs, only oral testimony [2]. Nevertheless, the court accepted it, citing the defence’s decision not to rebut.
Justice Omotosho ruled out the death penalty, stating he would “temper justice with mercy,” but imposed life imprisonment on counts 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6; 20 years on count 3; five years on count 7, to run concurrently. He ordered that Kanu remain in DSS “protective custody” without access to communication devices.
The life sentence cemented the State’s narrative: IPOB was no longer an agitator but a terrorist enterprise. Yet the case rested on testimony the defence never cross-examined. Whether justice was achieved or merely performed remains contested.