What You Need to Know
Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Nigerian court for terrorism and other charges. The ruling comes after a lengthy legal battle, with Kanu accused of inciting violence in his campaign for an independent Biafra. His conviction has sparked mixed reactions in Nigeria.
Africa. A court in Nigeria has found separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu guilty of terrorism and other charges following a decade-long legal case full of drama.
He has been given four life sentences, along with other terms, to be served concurrently. The prosecution had called for the death penalty, but Judge James Omotosho said that executions were now “frowned upon.”
In his ruling, he stated he was satisfied that Kanu had made a series of broadcasts to incite violence and killings as part of his campaign for a separate state in south-eastern Nigeria, known as Biafra.
Kanu was convicted on all seven charges he faced. As well as terrorism, they included treason and involvement with an outlawed movement.
Kanu always denied the charges and challenged the court’s jurisdiction. At the start of the trial, he dismissed his lawyers but refused to defend himself.
He was not in court when the verdict was delivered, having been removed for unruly behavior.
Security around the courthouse in the capital, Abuja, was tightened ahead of the verdict in case of protests by Kanu’s supporters.
Once a relatively obscure figure, he came to national prominence in 2009 when he started Radio Biafra, a station that called for an independent state for the Igbo people, broadcasting to Nigeria from London.
Though he grew up in south-eastern Nigeria, where he attended the University of Nsukka, Kanu moved to the UK before graduating and acquired British nationality.
In 2014, he set up the Indigenous People Of Biafra (Ipob), a movement demanding independence.
Ipob was banned as a terrorist organization in 2017. Its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network, has been accused of killings and other acts of violence in recent years.
Delivering his judgment, Justice Omotosho said: “Mr. Kanu knew what he was doing; he was bent on carrying out these threats without consideration for his own people.
“From the incontroverted evidence, it is clear that the defendant carried out preparatory acts of terrorism.
“He had the duty to explain himself but failed to do so.”
Kanu is a popular figure in his movement’s heartland in south-eastern Nigeria, but reaction to the verdict there has so far been muted.
In court ahead of the ruling, Kanu insisted that proceedings could not continue because he had not yet filed his final written address, accusing the judge of bias and not understanding the law.
The judgment was delivered after Kanu had been forcibly removed from the courtroom for unruly behavior.
He was first arrested in October 2015 but jumped bail in 2017 and left the country after a military raid on his home. The court later revoked his bail in March 2019.
Two years later, the government announced that he had been re-arrested. His lawyers say he was detained in Kenya and forcibly returned to Nigeria. Kenya has not commented.
In 2022, an appeal court ordered that the charges against him be dropped, saying he had been illegally arrested abroad, but this ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court the following year.
The calls for Biafran independence date back many years.
In 1967, Igbo leaders declared a Biafran state, but after a brutal civil war, which led to the deaths of up to a million people, the secessionist rebellion was defeated.
Many Igbo people continue to feel that they are marginalized by the Nigerian state; however, it is not clear how many are in favor of independence.
The calls for Biafran independence have a long history, dating back to 1967 when Igbo leaders declared a separate Biafran state. This declaration led to a devastating civil war, resulting in the deaths of up to a million people and the eventual defeat of the secessionist movement. Despite this history, many Igbo people still feel marginalized within Nigeria, leading to ongoing discussions about independence and self-determination.
Nnamdi Kanu emerged as a prominent figure in the Biafran independence movement in 2009 with the establishment of Radio Biafra. His activism intensified with the founding of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) in 2014, which was later designated a terrorist body.