Nnamdi Kanu’s former lead counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, on Thursday, November 20, condemned the Federal High Court’s decision sentencing the IPOB leader to life imprisonment, insisting the judgment was a “perversion of justice” that would not stand on appeal.
Speaking to journalists after Justice James Omotosho delivered the sentence, Ejimakor argued that Kanu’s conviction on terrorism charges amounted to criminalising speech and peaceful political expression.
He said, “To pursue a separate nation of yours is not a crime. So in Nigeria today, if somebody says, ‘don’t be silly’, you get convicted.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu made broadcast, and so what? And is convicted for terrorism, for mere words. In the Federal Republic of Nigeria, what kind of precedent is being laid?”
The lawyer vowed to take the case to the Court of Appeal, describing the appellate court as the only judicial panel that effectively sits “as a jury” and can independently review the proceedings.
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“From here, we are headed to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal is the only court in this country, or the last court in this country, that sits as a jury. We are going to approach the justices there to check out what happened in court today,” he said.
Ejimakor expressed confidence that appellate justices would recognise what he termed a grave miscarriage of justice.
“We are pretty sure the justices will agree with us that today was the symbol of the perversion of justice that everybody has been suspecting all along,” he told reporters.
He added that the legal team would not stop at the Court of Appeal if necessary.
“If the Court of Appeal disagrees with us, we head to the Supreme Court. But by God Almighty, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is not going to stand convicted. Not at all. It’s going to get overturned,” he said.
Nnamdi Kanu was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of terrorism on Thursday, November 20, by Justice James Omotosho.
Kanu was handed a life imprisonment sentence for Counts 1, 4, 5 and 6 of the seven-count charges, while he was handed a 20-year jail term for Count 2.