Tinubu’s Govt Planning to Sentence Nnamdi Kanu to Death or Life Imprisonment, Sowore Raises Alarm

• Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has alleged that the Tinubu administration is secretly plotting to either sentence Nnamdi Kanu to death or life imprisonment, claiming the verdict has already been predetermined.

Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has raised serious allegations against the Federal Government of Nigeria, saying top officials have reached a secret decision concerning the fate of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

In a statement shared via his verified X account, Sowore alleged that the government’s plan is to either sentence Kanu to death or condemn him to life imprisonment, disguising the outcome as a judicial process rather than political persecution.

“For the avoidance of doubt and to alert the public, it has become clear that a secret decision has long been reached within the Tinubu administration regarding the fate of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. The plan 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 wrote.

He also claimed that Justice James Omotosho is expected to conclude Kanu’s trial by ruling that his refusal to open his defence amounts to an admission of guilt — a legal interpretation designed to justify a verdict allegedly agreed upon in secret.

Sowore warned that the ruling, expected in November, carries “a haunting historical precedent,” drawing a parallel to the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists by the regime of General Sani Abacha in 1995.

DON’T MISS: ‘Nnamdi Kanu is Dying’ – BRGIE Orders 3-Day Sit-at-Home, Bars Anambra Election

“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,” he added.

Sowore said the trial of Nnamdi Kanu is no longer about justice but a test of conscience for Nigeria’s judiciary and citizens.

Kanu has been in detention since June 2021, following his arrest and extradition from Kenya. The case continues to generate widespread reactions across Nigeria’s South-East, where his supporters have repeatedly called for his release.