"November 20: Will Justice Omotosho Say 'My Hands Are Tied' Like Sowemimo in 1963? | The Truth About Nnamdi Kanu’s Trial"

"November 20: Will Justice Omotosho Say 'My Hands Are Tied' Like Sowemimo in 1963? | The Truth About Nnamdi Kanu’s Trial" ...

"November 20: Will Justice Omotosho Say 'My Hands Are Tied' Like Sowemimo in 1963? | The Truth About Nnamdi Kanu’s Trial"

When Justice George Sodeinde Sowemimo sentenced Chief Obafemi Awolowo in 1963, he uttered a sentence that became a permanent scar on Nigeria’s judicial conscience: “My hands are tied.” Those four words revealed something far deeper than judicial reluctance — they exposed the height of pressure, manipulation, and political interference behind the courtroom's curtain. Sowemimo did not speak as a free judge; he spoke as a man carrying the weight of political demands he could not refuse.

As 20 November 2025 approaches, Nigerians must refuse history repeating itself. Because, if Justice James Omotosho stands in court and sentences Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the meaning will be unmistakable: He would be admitting that he was pushed, cornered, or outrightly compelled by political forces, especially influential leaders from the Southeast to convict a man who has no valid case in law.

Let us be sincere: Kanu’s trial has long left the terrain of law. What remains is raw politics dressed in judicial robes. Everyone knows that the charges are hanging on a repealed, non-existent law. Everyone knows that extraordinary rendition violates international norms, destroyed due process, and made any trial defective from the start. Everyone knows that the prosecution has struggled but failed to present anything that resembles a criminal offence. So why is this case still standing? It is because, behind the scenes, a network of political actors especially some Southeast politicians desperate to stay in the good books of Abuja have turned the courtroom into a theatre for their ambition. Their fear of Kanu’s influence has become a quiet but powerful force. They would rather see him caged than allow him return home and reshape the political future of the East. If Omotosho convicts him despite the emptiness of the evidence, it will not be law speaking. It will be politics speaking with a judge’s voice.

Unlike Sowemimo, who feared being accused of favouring a Yoruba hero, Omotosho’s “tied hands” would carry a different flavour: the fear of defying the political class that wants Kanu silenced. It would mean he was pressured by Abuja, cornered by certain Southeast politicians who see Kanu as a threat to their survival, told directly or indirectly that acquitting Kanu would be interpreted as disobedience, and delivering a verdict scripted outside the courtroom. In such a moment, the judge would not be convicting Kanu. He would be convicting the judiciary itself.

A conviction obtained through political force is not just injustice, it is a national disaster. It will have consequences. It will delegitimize the judiciary in the eyes of 2 the world. It will deepen the wounds between the state and the Southeast. It will immortalize Kanu as a political martyr. It will ignite a crisis of confidence in the country’s legal system. And like the Awolowo judgment, it will follow 4 Nigeria for generations as a stain never washed off.

Sowemimo’s “my hands are tied” still haunts Nigeria. If Omotosho repeats that tragedy directly or indirectly Nigerians will know exactly what happened: a judge chose survival over justice, a political class imposed its will on the court, and a man whose only “crime” was demanding justice for his people became a victim of the very injustice he protested.

20 November 2025 is not just another court date. It is a test of Nigeria’s democracy, a test of the rule of law, a test of whether a judge can stand with justice against political wolves.

If Omotosho allows himself to be tied, voices of conscience will ask and historians will confirm who tied him? Because the truth is clear: only a politically intimidated judge can convict Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. A free judge will never find guilt where no law exists.

Family Writers Press International