Human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has alleged that a secret political decision has already been reached by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu regarding the fate of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
In a statement shared on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle in the early hours of Monday, Sowore claimed that the government had long devised a plan to either sentence Kanu to death or condemn him to life imprisonment — a decision he described as “predetermined and politically motivated.”
“For the avoidance of doubt and to alert the public, it has become clear that a secret decision has long been reached within the @officialABAT regime regarding the fate of Mazi @NnamdiKanu,” Sowore wrote.
“The plan, devised through a high-level political conspiracy, is to either sentence him to death or condemn him to life imprisonment. This outcome, predetermined far in advance, is now being dressed up in the guise of judicial procedure.”
Sowore further alleged that Justice James Omotosho, who is presiding over Kanu’s case at the Federal High Court in Abuja, is expected to conclude the trial by declaring that Kanu’s refusal to open his defence amounts to an admission of guilt — a move he believes is meant to legitimize an outcome “already agreed upon behind closed doors.”
According to Sowore, the ruling is anticipated to be delivered in November, a month he described as bearing a “haunting historical precedent” for Nigeria’s justice system.
He drew parallels between the ongoing case and the November 1995 execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists under the General Sani Abacha military regime, warning that the country was once again standing at a moral crossroads.
“It was in November 1995 that the military tribunal of General Sani Abacha sentenced Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists to death — a sentence carried out with ruthless precision,” he said.
“Today, three decades later, Nigeria appears to be standing at the same moral crossroads. Only the year has changed; this is 2025, not 1995, but the machinery of repression grinds on. The trial of Nnamdi Kanu has ceased to be about justice; it is now a test of conscience for the Nigerian state and its citizens alike.”
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Presidency nor the Department of State Services (DSS) had responded to Sowore’s claims.
Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who has been in detention since his re-arrest and extradition from Kenya in 2021, faces multiple charges bordering on treasonable felony and terrorism-related offences. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that his advocacy for a Biafra referendum is based on peaceful self-determination principles.
The Nnamdi Kanu trial remains one of Nigeria’s most politically sensitive cases in recent years, drawing both domestic and international attention.
Observers say the next few weeks could prove pivotal, as the anticipated judgment may either reinforce public trust in Nigeria’s judiciary — or deepen skepticism about the independence of its courts.
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
