Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has formally challenged his conviction and life sentence for terrorism by approaching the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

In a notice of appeal filed on February 4, Kanu urged the appellate court to overturn both the conviction and the penalties imposed by the Federal High Court, arguing that the trial court erred in law and procedure.

Central to his appeal is the claim that the trial judge failed to allow allocutus, the opportunity for a convicted person to address the court before sentencing, before handing down the maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

In the reliefs sought, Kanu asked the appellate court for: “An Order of the Honourable Court of Appeal quashing the conviction of the Appellant in all the counts in the charge No: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015 by the Federal High Court Judge,”

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“An Order of the Honourable Court of Appeal quashing, reversing and setting aside the sentences/punishment imposed on the Appellant by the Honourable trial Federal High Court Judge in the charge No; FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015.

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“An Order of the Honourable Court of Appeal discharging and acquitting the Appellant in respect of all the counts in charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015.”

Kanu was convicted in November 2025 by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who sentenced him to life imprisonment on terrorism-related offences.

The court imposed life sentences on counts one, four, five and six of the seven-count charge. He was also sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment on count three and five years on count seven.

In delivering judgement, Justice Omotosho held that Kanu failed to present a credible defence and “deliberately refused” to challenge the prosecution’s evidence.

The judge further ruled that Kanu’s conduct in court made him unsuitable for incarceration at Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja, ordering instead that he be kept in protective custody at a location within Nigeria.

Kanu has been standing trial since his repatriation to Nigeria from Kenya on June 19, 2021, after the federal government arraigned him on seven counts bordering on terrorism.