Terror is terror, and no amount of obfuscation, ideological inconsistencies and intellectual gymnastics can change that. Terror is terror, no matter how hard anyone tries to cloak it in the garb of a noble cause which, in this case, it is clearly not.
Yesterday, Justice James Omotosho of the Abuja Federal High Court sentenced the embattled leader of the indigenous people of Biafra to life imprisonment, bringing to an end a long and checkered trial of the secessionist that spanned nearly half a decade. The trial was marred by numerous legal and judicial shenanigans, antics, and histrionics from the prosecution, the defence, and the presiding judge. All this is now in the past with the conviction of Kanu on all seven-count charges of terrorism and his subsequent sentencing to life imprisonment.
The sentencing of Nnamdi Kanu has been greeted by divergent views. There are many whose positions on the development smack of revulsion and disdain for the judge and his judgment. They see the judgment as not only exceedingly harsh and extremely high-handed but a verdict that highlights and lends credence to the somewhat widespread notion of maltreatment and prosecution of Igbo in the country. To these people the violence, deaths and destruction engendered by Kanu’s dangerous and reckless rhetoric and harangues are inconsequential here because to them Kanu’s agitation and advocacy were hinged on a ‘ just cause’ and whatever consequences of his actions, however unconscionable and reprehensible, must be overlooked and pardoned.
After fleeing Nigeria in 2017 following a deadly raid on his home in Abia State by the Nigerian security forces, Kanu fled to London, where he continued his vicious and destructive campaign of hate and sedition against the Nigerian state using the infamous Radio Biafra. This dangerous, divisive and abhorrent rhetoric plunges the South East region, an enclave largely hitherto immune to the violence and upheaval that envelops most parts of Nigeria, into chaos and instability. Bloodshed, wanton killings, violent attacks and social upheavals became the order of the day. His campaign of mayhem and destabilisation turned the nation’s most thriving commercial region into a dormant and soulless entity. It stunts its growth and destroys its socio-economic ecosystem.
From his base in London, Kanu issued instructions for his men and foot soldiers to kill security agents and servicemen. An order which they dutifully and unquestioningly obeyed. He also directed his armed supporters to go after those who refused to obey his sit-at-home order in the southeast and many people were murdered based on this order. All of the tapes of his instructions were presented in court. Kanu raised funds and sent them to his slavish followers with which they bought sophisticated firearms that were used to wreak havoc and commit acts of terrorism in the South East. All this he did publicly and the prosecution showed this to anyone who wanted to obfuscate or deny his atrocities. Long before his rendition and prosecution, anyone who knows a thing or two about the law knows that Kanu’s actions are destructive and against the laws of the land. According to Reuters, over 700 people were killed between 2021 and 2025 in the South East for defying Kanu’s sit-at-home order.
Those who oppose the sentence handed to Kanu have also anchored their position on what they perceived to be a double standard and hypocrisy in the government’s treatment of those tagged as terrorists in the north and how the Kanu case has been handled. However, what they do not know is that drawing such a comparison undermines their stance and raises strong questions about the logic of their reasoning. By comparing the abhorrent actions of terrorists in the north with the invidious and destructive agenda of Kanu, they unwittingly justify the diabolical actions and sickening behaviour of Kanu.
We can ask the government to be more ruthless and decisive in dealing with terrorists and perverse elements by not excusing the obnoxious and repulsive actions of Kanu. We can pillory and castigate the government for treating terrorists and agents of destabilisation in the north with kid gloves, without deodorising or airbrushing the depraved and barbarous actions of Kanu. We can voice our displeasure and discontent with the unsettling and worrisome manner in which the prosecution and trial of some terrorists have been handled, without the canonisation of Kanu and what he stands for.
We should not put tribal considerations and ideological affinity over national interest commonsense by rationalising the heinous acts of terrorists. The fact that terrorists in the north are protected and treated with love, tenderness and care does not mean that we should allow another cankerworm in the East to fester just to even things out and balance the scales of abnormality and depravity. We cannot condone, justify and mainstream the disposition and eccentricity of a man who ordered the killing of his kinsmen and compatriots because some sick, twisted and demented characters elsewhere are doing it and are getting away with it because of the government’s jarring lack of political will to do the right.
It is not hard to see why supporters and sympathisers of Nnamdi Kanu are rationalising and excusing his distasteful and unforgivable actions. It is that they see him as someone championing a noble and just cause. If you can persuade people into seeing and accepting your fight and agitation as a just and noble cause that is in their interest, they will convince themselves that whatever unspeakable atrocities you forment, order, or even commit are just collateral damage and a sacrifice needed for the greater good and actualisation of the lofty, grand and altruistic cause. It is this illusion of just cause that will make them spend the better part of the year calling for Gumi’s arrest and prosecution while somehow not being able to reconcile Kanu’s vicious, dehumanising and monstrous acts with the terrorism that has ravaged and destroyed the East.
It’s why they can watch a video of menacing, feral and cold-blooded apostles of Kanu slitting the throats of female soldiers, mutilating them, and devouring their private parts and are somehow not unsettled, fazed or rattled to their core like the videos of ISWAP do (even though those IPOB videos are more disturbing, gory and distressful). It’s the feigned sanctimonious act and sense of moral righteousness that they are fighting for something worthy and incredibly rewarding that makes them compartmentalise their views on and reaction to the act of terror. While they vehemently decry the acts of terror far from home, they glorify the one in their backyard as they feel it is part of a broader campaign to bring a lofty idea to fruition. It gives them the latitude to feel like they’re free and justified to commit any act of terror without seeing it as terror. That is not only wrong but demonic. Terror is terror, and no amount of obfuscation, ideological inconsistencies and intellectual gymnastics can change that. Terror is terror, no matter how hard anyone tries to cloak it in the garb of a noble cause which, in this case, it is clearly not.