The Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) has strongly condemned the recent life sentence handed to IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, warning that the verdict could spark “unimaginable and unavoidable consequences” in Nigeria’s Southeast.
In a statement released on Friday, the group’s National President, Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, described the ruling by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja as “purchased,” politically driven, and a deliberate affront to the Igbo people. Igboayaka said the decision represented a grave miscarriage of justice engineered to benefit what he called “political oppressors and profiteers.” He added that the ruling has seriously undermined public trust in Nigeria’s judiciary.
Drawing parallels with the pre-war era of 1967–1970, the youth leader warned that the judgment could rekindle deep-seated ethnic tension. “The events of 1967–1970 will not repeat themselves. Any sudden provocation will be met with formidable resistance,” he stated. He rejected the portrayal of Kanu, IPOB, and the broader Igbo community as terrorists, insisting that their call for self-determination is legitimate. “Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is not a terrorist. Ndigbo are not terrorists,” Igboayaka declared.
He also accused parts of the judiciary of colluding with political interests, naming figures like former President Muhammadu Buhari, ex-Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi as being shielded despite making inflammatory statements. The council also warned that the younger generation of Igbo might be pushed to react strongly.
According to Igboayaka, millions of Igbo people support self-determination, and their resolve will not be diminished by this conviction. Kanu’s legal team has already vowed to appeal the ruling, calling it politically motivated and constitutionally flawed.
