Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Onyechi Ikpeazu, has weighed in on developments surrounding the Federal High Court’s conviction of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, for terrorism and for issuing “sit-at-home” orders that allegedly led to the closure of banks, schools, and economic activities across the Southeast, particularly on Mondays.
Ikpeazu told Naijaonpoint in an interview that regardless of the sentiments trailing Justice James Omotosho’s judgment, the only legal option available to any dissatisfied party “is to appeal.”
“Rightly or wrongly, a judge has a right to be wrong; ultimately, if you are not satisfied, you go on appeal. That is the system we run,” he said, while commenting on developments around the disengagement of Senior Advocates—himself included—by Kanu.
Naijaonpoint previously reported that Justice Omotosho delivered the conviction while reading his judgment in Kanu’s trial on alleged treasonable felony and terrorism charges brought against him by the Federal Government.
During the trial, Kanu informed the Federal High Court, Abuja, of his decision to disengage his legal team led by Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, and signaled his willingness to defend himself.
At the proceedings, Agabi informed the court of Kanu’s decision, after which Kanu confirmed, and the team withdrew from further appearance in the case.
Kanu subsequently worked with consultants—several barristers who were previously part of his legal team—until the final judgment by Justice Omotosho.
Reacting to the judgment, Barrister Maxwell Okpara, who was part of Kanu’s former legal team and later served as a consultant, had said on Arise News that “Nnamdi Kanu never sacked his lawyers; rather, the lawyers withdrew.”
Sharing his perspective on the legal developments, Ikpeazu SAN, one of the disengaged senior lawyers, said the matter was a serious case requiring detailed professional attention, adding that it would be misleading for anyone to misrepresent what transpired regarding the lawyers’ disengagement.
“We also asked him whether he knew the implications of that. He said yes, and that he would be ready to defend himself,” Ikpeazu added.
“And on our part, regardless of the sentiments, to me, the material thing was that we had a case to do and we felt that we had done enough to cast reasonable doubt based on the evidence led by the prosecution.
“It was on that premise that we preferred our defense, but the client had a right to take over his case and conduct his case on his own, and that was eventually what happened,” he stressed.
Justice Omotosho had earlier dismissed Kanu’s no-case submission, ruling that prima facie evidence had been sufficiently provided by the Department of State Services (DSS), requiring “some explanation” from Kanu.
However, Kanu refused to enter a defence and was eventually foreclosed after multiple adjournments.
Kanu denied these allegations in the original 2015 case, which later restarted before Justice Omotosho in 2025.
In his judgment, Justice Omotosho held that since Kanu’s defence had been foreclosed, the court would rely solely on the prosecution’s evidence and several affidavits before it.
In his judgment, Justice Omotosho held that since Kanu’s defence had been foreclosed, the court would rely solely on the prosecution’s evidence and several affidavits before it.
He quoted Kanu describing Nigeria as a “zoo” and referring to the Southeast as “Biafra,” adding that Kanu was fully aware of the implications of his statements.
The court ruled that he must be kept in a “protective custody facility” in any part of Nigeria and must not access any digital device except under the supervision of the Office of the National Security Adviser.
Kanu is expected to approach the Court of Appeal to challenge the trial court’s judgment.