Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore on Thursday alleged that the conviction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, was the outcome of a long-concluded political decision by the Federal Government.

Sowore, in a post on his X handle, claimed that the judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho was “pre-written” and had been sealed by what he described as the Tinubu administration weeks before the court sat.

He said he had raised alarm as far back as November 5 that “credible insider sources” indicated that government had already reached a secret decision to either sentence Kanu to death or life imprisonment, regardless of the judicial process.

According to him, “The trial of Nnamdi Kanu stopped being about justice a long time ago. What happened today was the enactment of a predetermined outcome dressed in the robes of judicial procedure.”

The activist drew parallels with the November 1995 execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight Ogoni activists under the Sani Abacha regime, warning that Nigeria was again “at a moral crossroads.”

Sowore also accused Justice Omotosho of interpreting Kanu’s refusal to open his defence as an admission of guilt—an interpretation he alleged was part of an already-agreed script.

His remarks came moments after the Federal Government celebrated the conviction, saying “justice has finally been served.”
Lead prosecutor Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, representing the government, urged the court to impose the death penalty, arguing that the offences under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act left “no alternative sentencing option.” He also criticised Kanu for showing no remorse throughout the trial.

As the nation awaits sentencing, Sowore said the development should prompt sober reflection.

“Nigeria must now choose the kind of country it wants to be,” he stated.