The convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu who is serving life sentence in National Correctional Centre Sokoto, for terrorism related offences has filed a notice of appeal at the Court of Appeal, challenging his conviction by the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 20, 2026.
Kanu filed the notice of Appeal on Wednesday, February 4, 2026 , and listed the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the respondent.
He urged the Court of Appeal to allow his appeal and issues an Order of the Court of Appeal quashing his conviction in all the counts in the charge No FHC /ABG/CR/383/2015 by the Federal High Court judge.
The appellant also is asking for an order of s⁴the Court of Appeal quashing,reversing and setting aside the sentences / punishment imposed on him by Federal High Court judge
Fourthly , the appellant has also asked the Court of Appeal for an order discharging and acquitting him in respect of all counts in charge FHC /ABG/CR/383/2015 and for such further orders that Court of Appeal may deem fit to make.
The Notice of Appeal contains 22 grounds of appeal, on which he is vigorously contending, among others, that the trial court judge erred in law and that his preliminary objections and pending bail application were ignored, and that he was convicted despite a prior Court of Appeal ruling declaring earlier proceedings a nullity.
He also argued that the trial judge “erred in law by failing to resolve the procedural and competence consequences” of the disrupted 2017 trial.
In other grounds raised in the notice of appeal, the appellant accused the trial judge of misdirection for treating his absence from Nigeria as adverse. He also said he was convicted under a repealed law, retried on overlapping facts, and sentenced without consideration of mitigation or “allocutus,” among others.
Recalls that Mr Kanu was first arrested in October 2015 and charged with offences including treasonable felony and unlawful possession of arms. He was granted bail in 2017 but fled Nigeria after soldiers reportedly raided his home.
He was rearrested in Kenya in June 2021 and brought back to Nigeria to face trial on seven terrorism-related counts.
The case was restarted under Mr Omotosho in March 2025 after earlier judicial recusals. Between May and June 2025, the court set strict dates for the federal government to close its case. In September 2025, Mr Kanu filed a no-case submission, which was dismissed, and the court later ordered a medical panel to assess his fitness to stand trial.
In October 2025, Mr Kanu sacked his legal team and said he would represent himself. He repeatedly declined to open his defence, asserting there was no valid charge against him. After failing to persuade Mr Kanu to open his defence and keeping the window for him to do so open for some time, the judge eventually deemed him to have waived his right to put forward his defence.
On 20 November 2025, the judge delivered judgement and convicted Mr Kanu on all seven counts and sentenced him to life imprisonment.