A Nigerian separatist leader accused of terrorism and instigating violence in the Nigeria’s southeast was acquitted Thursday by Court of Appeal Abuja
Mazi Nnamdi Kanu
Nigeria’s Court of Appeal dismissed charges brought by the government against Nnamdi Kanu in Abuja, the country’s capital, after a jury criticized the legality of the case against him, according to Ifeanyi Ejiofor, his lawyer but Kanu has not yet been released from detention.
Nnamdi Kanu and his lawyer, Barr. Ejiofor
The separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra led by Kanu has been pushing for the southeast region to secede from the West African nation and become independent. But the Nigerian government said it uses the group known as IPOB to instigate violence, resulting in the deaths of many in the country’s southeast.
Kanu was facing trial for alleged treason and terrorism, but escaped Nigeria in 2017 while on bail. He was arrested again in June last year and brought back to Nigeria from an undisclosed country.
Southeast Nigeria
The separatist leader, who also holds British citizenship, pleaded not guilty when his trial resumed, which his group says is being used to quell his secessionist campaign. The campaign reminds many of the short-lived Republic of Biafra that fought and lost a civil war from 1967 to 1970 to gain independence from Nigeria. An estimated 1 million people died in the war, many from starvation.
After being acquitted, Emma Powerful, a spokeswoman for the Biafra group, told the AP: “Our next goal is to ensure that Biafra’s release materialises and no human being can stop it.”
Kanu’s trial echoed accusations of marginalization in Nigeria’s southeastern region composed of the Igbo, Nigeria’s third-largest ethnic group that is primarily Christian. Nigeria’s more than 200 million people are divided almost equally between Christians and Muslims.
Biafran agitators
Amid calls for a referendum, the secessionist group IPOB has become more violent, officials and experts have said. The formation of the Eastern Security Network, its paramilitary arm, in December 2020 coincided with an increase in criminal attacks in the region.
IPOB has also been outlawed as a terrorist organization by the Nigerian authorities. Many of the group’s members have been arrested. An escape in Imo State led to the escape of nearly 2,000 inmates earlier this year.
SKJ