FACT-CHECK: Nnamdi Kanu’s supporters push barrage of misinformation after his sentencing

Supporters of the convicted leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, have taken it upon themselves to push a barrage of misinformation after a court sentenced him to life imprisonment on 20 November.

The Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced the IPOB leader to life imprisonment.

The presiding judge handed down the sentence on counts one, two, four, five, and six, opting for life imprisonment instead of the death penalty.

He also handed Kanu a 20-year jail term on count three, with no option of fine, and a five-year jail term on count seven, with no option of fine.

Justice Omotosho delivered the judgment after convicting Kanu on all seven counts of terrorism offences.

The judgment has not gone down well with Kanu’s supporters, his family, and former lawyers.

His lawyer-turned consultant, Alloy Ejomakor, had hinted that Kanu would appeal the judgment.

Ejomakor also disclosed that the convicted IPOB leader has moved from the custody of the State Security Services ( also known as DSS) to Sokoto Correctional Centre.

Reacting to the judgment, many IPOB supporters have continued to call out Justice Omotosho and the Nigerian government over the judgment.

The group also engages in the use of foul language and abuses in expressing their frustration over the judgment.

To an extent, they employ misinformation and disinformation to mislead the gullible ones among them.

On Facebook and the X platform, Kanu supporters dish out claims of the assassination of the trial judge, a prison official praising Kanu, and others.

Official praising Kanu at Sokoto prison

The claim that a top prison official at Sokoto Correctional Centre praised Kanu went viral on Wednesday.

Many supporters of the outlawed IPOB leader posted a photo of a prison official alongside the claim, “I am a prison guard in Sokoto Prison, and I can tell you for free that Nnamdi Kanu is the wisest man I have ever met in my entire life. He carries a kind of wisdom that feels divine, the wisdom of Allah Himself, and he does not deserve to be here,” a Hausa prison guard has reportedly revealed.

He continued, “Every time I speak with him, I feel like I am speaking with a man far ahead of this generation. This is not a criminal — this is a leader. Nigeria is holding the wrong man in prison.”

However, they did not name the prison official who stated this.

See where this claim appeared here and here.

Verification

FACTWATCH Nigeria checked the image of the unarmed prison official attached to the claim on Google and discovered that this was a photo of a former Controller-General of the Nigeria Correctional Centre, Haliru Nababa.

Nababa was the Nigerian prison boss from 2021 to 2024.

Using this, indicates a deliberate push of misinformation.

The claim does not have the name of an official attached to it, nor a date; the comment was made.

Also, no credible news organization in Nigeria corroborated the claim.

Verdict

The claim of comment, praising Nnamdi Kanu, as “wisest”, which was attributed to an unarmed prison official, is FALSE.

Assassination attempt of Justice Omotosho claim

Another claim distributed by Kanu supporters, was that the judge who sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment, Justice James Omotosho, was nearly assassinated a few days after the judgment.

The claim was posted here.

However, the court debunked it.

The Federal High Court has called for the arrest and investigation of a blogger who falsely reported that Justice James Omotosho survived an assassination attempt over his conviction and life sentencing of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

The report, circulated by a blogger on Facebook, alleged that Justice Omotosho was attacked on Saturday morning, two days after handing down the sentence, claiming the judge was rushed to a hospital as security personnel secured the area.

However, the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Sulaiman Hassan, in a statement on Sunday, described the publication as entirely false.

The statement was titled “Rebuttal to False Publication by ‘Celebrity Blogger’ on the Alleged Assassination Attempt on Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court”.

Recycling an old story on worsened insecurity

A Kanu supporter on the X platform, known as Ugo247, recycled a story of the killing of 200 persons in the Yelewata community in Benue State in June this year.

In the image, the X attached to the old story he shared, AFP reported that this was an unrelated picture of one of the biggest camps for people displaced by Islamic extremists in Maiduguri, Nigeria.