By Abiola Olawale
The legal team for the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has announced its intention to file an immediate appeal against the life imprisonment sentence handed down by the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday.
Kanu’s counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, speaking shortly after the verdict, described the judgment as a “travesty of justice” and confirmed that the defense will challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal.
Ejimakor made this known while speaking with journalists shortly after James Omotosho, the presiding judge, gave the ruling on Thursday.
The judge sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment on counts one, four, five, and six.
He also imposed 20 years on count three and five years on count seven, with all sentences to run concurrently and without an option of a fine.
However, Ejimakor challenged the ruling, noting that the defence team will file an appeal.
“What kind of precedent is being laid here? We are heading to the court of appeal,” he said.
“The court of appeal is the only court in this country, or the next court in this country, that sits as a jury; we are going to approach justices there to check out what happened in court today.
“And we are pretty sure the justices will agree with us that today was the symbol of the travesty of justice that everybody has been suspecting.
“If the court of appeal disagrees with us, we head to the supreme court; Nnamdi Kanu is not going to stand convicted, he’s going to get overturned.
“This is the only day I have witnessed a man being convicted for mere pronouncements, just for what he said from his mouth, not what he did with his own hands.
“The verdict is not consistent with the evidence laid before the court; the sentence is overbroad, cruel, and unusual.
“How can you convict a man for making a mere broadcast from a location that was never named, and, he never tied that broadcast to any single incident of violence, or even someone slapping someone, not to talk of terrorism?”
