Travesty of Justice: Nnamdi Kanu’s Wife Reacts to Husband’s Life Sentence

Uchechi Okwu-Kanu, wife of Nnamdi Kanu, has sharply criticized Justice James Omotosho following the life sentence handed to her husband by the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday. Kanu, leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was convicted on all seven terrorism-related charges brought by the Department of State Services. The court ruled that the prosecution provided sufficient evidence, and that Kanu’s decision not to present a defense left the court no choice but to convict.

Speaking publicly, Uchechi questioned the legal process, arguing that a judge cannot ask a defendant to enter a defense on terrorism charges without citing the specific written law under which the person is being tried. She accused Justice Omotosho of reading from a prepared script during the sentencing and alleged that he struggled to read parts of his own judgment. She further claimed that her husband was pressured to plead under a repealed law and that the court denied him the opportunity to file proper written objections or a final address.

Uchechi framed the sentencing as a violation of constitutional protections, asserting that the judgment ignored the principle that no one should be convicted under an undefined or unwritten offense. She described the ruling as a “travesty of justice” and suggested that the proceedings demonstrated selective enforcement of the law.