Conviction of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu: Echoes and trailers

Thursday, November 20, 2025 has gone into Nigeria’s history as another day of reckoning for the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement, as a judicial curtain has been drawn on the activist proclivities of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu following his conviction by an Abuja High Court for offences bordering on terrorism and other […]

Thursday, November 20, 2025 has gone into Nigeria’s history as another day of reckoning for the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement, as a judicial curtain has been drawn on the activist proclivities of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu following his conviction by an Abuja High Court for offences bordering on terrorism and other crimes. He was handed several sentences, including life by the judge, James Omotosho in a trial that had the setting of the Nigerian judiciary itself being on trial.

In a live-televised court trial, the judge found Kanu guilty of the seven charges levelled against him. As the judgement was being pronounced, it was clear to most observers that Kanu escaped the hangman’s noose only because of the compassion of the trial judge, James Omotosho. Even the prosecution counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo had called for death penalty which the law provides for, but which the judge declined to grant.  

Expectedly, reactions to the development have been raging and varied with factors that define the content and direction of such, including the political calculus around the issues associated with his Biafra secessionist campaign, appraisals of the judicial processes involved in his long trial, the ethnic colouration, which some commentators easily attach to the entire drama of his campaign, trial and conviction, as well as contemplations on the wider implications of his incarceration; now he is put out of circulation.

The twists and turns associated with his trial proper did also not help the matter as they often attracted suspicions of underhand interventions in his ordeal. That is why the conclusion of his trial by Justice James Omotosho remains significant.

As things stand, contemplations on the future of the Biafra secessionist campaign without Nnamdi Kanu calling the shots will be as varied as they come, even as the main factor remains that a major voice on the issue has been silenced, at least for now. For it is inconceivable that much traction can be availed the movement from his corner in the correction facility, even as he had been the spirit driving the movement, even from his detention cage while in the custody of the DSS. His various court appearances availed his supporters the opportunity of sighting him and be reminded of what he shared with them.  This is not to discount the possibility of a turnaround of events with the instance of an appellate dispensation or a presidential reprieve. After all, this is Nigeria…

However, going forward, any valid appraisal of the future of the Biafran campaign with the conviction of Nnamdi Kanu will need to draw much of its premise from the history of the conundrum of secessionism in Nigeria’s politics.

One thing is, however, clear – the last word on the Biafra agenda has not been heard. How the advocacy for Biafra will manifest from henceforth will depend on what the administration of Bola Tinubu will do about it. And no matter how things stand, in any political bargaining dispensation involving the South-East geopolitical zone, Mazi Kanu remains a major factor if traction shall be mustered. In fact, by his incarceration, he may have gained more bargaining value than in pre-trial detention in the cell of the DSS.

This is because Nnamdi Kanu has become an icon of interrogating the Nigerian nation in the circumstances where the tendency of seeking separation from the Nigerian federation runs deep in the veins of not a few of its over 250 distinct ethnic nationalities, with each in a perpetual struggle to retain, and if possible, extend its clout, as well as sphere of influence within the political space. And this had always been the main issue with the country’s political culture. Hence the circumstances of Nnamdi Kanu as a separatist movement leader need to be seen in this wider context. Also in that context needs to be appreciated that his imprisonment will also not kill the Biafra campaign as it has become a global movement.

Given the political alchemy of forced assemblage of Nigerian constituent ethnic nationalities by the British in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and under the circumstances of colonialisation and amalgamation, it was natural for many of such communities to remain averse to being yoked together with strange bedfellows in the name of ‘One Nigeria’.

In several literary works, there are reports of clashes between erstwhile peacefully co-habiting neighbouring communities suddenly drawn into fighting among themselves, simply because of the sudden political ‘marriage’ with each other, even without consulting them.

Typical separatist tendencies and movements include the Arewa Republic, which is a concept that advocates the unification of the northern part of the Nigeran federation by not asking for secession but the extension of the political and cultural influence of the region within the Nation’s political space.

Also in the terrain of separatism remains the Oduduwa Republic saga with the likes of Sunday Ugboho featuring as a place holder for more consolidated Yoruba ethnic jingoists. Also in the terrain of separatism was the 1966 revolution, featuring an armed conflict for the actualisation of the Niger Delta Republic, led by the late Isaac Boro. In contemporary times are the various insurgent groups fighting, especially in the northern part of the country, to tear the Nigerian federation apart.

 In the final analysis, even as Mazi Nnamdi Kanu may have started serving time in jail, he is not alone in chains. The country is also in ch In the final analysis, even as Mazi Nnamdi Kanu may have started serving time in jail, he is not alone in chains. The country is also in chains as long as it fails to resolve the common grouse he shares with other separatists. ins as long as it fails to resolve the common grouse he shares with other separatists.