Reports of an assassination attempt on Justice James Omotosho, who recently sentenced Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to life in prison, have been categorically denied by the Federal High Court (FHC).
A blogger on social media early on Saturday morning reported that Justice Omotosho was brought to a hospital while security personnel tried to protect the area after surviving an assassination attempt just days after delivering the harsh sentence.
Reacting to the report, the Chief Registrar of the FHC, Sulaiman Hassan, issued a statement on Sunday morning, November 23 titled, “Rebuttal to False Publication by ‘Celebrity Blogger’ on the Alleged Assassination Attempt on Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court.”
Hassan declared the reports to be completely false and unfounded. He stated: “We hereby firmly and unequivocally declare that the said report is completely false and unfounded. The public is advised to treat this publication as fake news and refrain from further dissemination to prevent the spread of misinformation.
Hassan urged relevant security agencies and regulatory authorities to conduct a thorough investigation due to the seriousness of the publication, which he said had the potential to cause panic and undermine faith in the legal system and may be meant as a form of intimidation.
He clarified that the investigation’s objective is to “identify and apprehend the perpetrators responsible for this false report and prosecute them in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, particularly those relating to cybercrime, defamation, and public misinformation.”
The fake news appeared soon after Justice Omotosho’s historic decision on Thursday, in which he found IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu guilty of seven terrorism-related offenses and commuted his death sentence to life in prison.
The judge sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment on five terrorism counts (one, two, four, five, and six), which each carried a potential death sentence. For the offense of belonging to a proscribed terrorist group (count three), Kanu received 20 years, and for the unlawful importation of a radio transmitter (count seven), he received five years.
The judge showed mercy by ordering the lesser sentences—counts three and seven to run concurrently. Justice Omotosho noted that while the law permitted the death sentence for the terrorism offenses, he, as a Christian, chose to be merciful to the defendant, citing scripture.
He ordered that the IPOB leader be held in a protective custody in any part of the country, excluding the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja. The judge also restricted Kanu from using digital devices while in custody without the close monitoring of the Office of the National Security Adviser, citing the defendant’s “unruly behaviours” and lack of remorse throughout the trial.
