In Nigeria, a court has ruled against independence advocate Nnamdi Kanu for terrorism offenses ten years after his first detainment.
The presiding judge stated that Kanu aired multiple broadcasts encouraging violence and killings as part of his movement for an independent nation in Nigeria's south-eastern region, known as Biafra.
Kanu has been convicted on each of the seven counts he faced—encompassing terror-related acts, treason, and involvement with a banned separatist movement.
Rise of a Separatist Figure
Once a little-known figure, Kanu's popularity surged in 2009 when he started Radio Biafra, a station that called for an independent state for the Igbo people, transmitted to Nigeria from London.
Though he grew up in south-eastern Nigeria, where he studied at the University of Nsukka, Kanu moved to the UK before completing his studies and obtained British nationality.
In 2014, he established the Indigenous People Of Biafra (Ipob), a movement calling for independence.
Ban and Militant Actions
Ipob was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 2017. Its armed wing—the Eastern Security Network—has been accused of killings and other acts of violence in recent years.
Issuing his ruling, Judge James Omotosho said: "Mr Kanu was aware of what he was doing, he was bent on executing these threats without consideration to his own people."
"From the undeniable evidence, it is clear that the accused carried out preliminary actions of terrorism."
"He was given the duty to clarify himself but failed to do so."
Reaction and Judicial Proceedings
Kanu remains a influential figure in his movement's heartland in south-eastern Nigeria, but reaction to the decision there has so far been muted.
In court prior to the ruling, Kanu insisted that the trial could not continue because he had not yet filed his concluding statement, alleging the presiding officer of partiality and misinterpreting the law.
The judgement was delivered after Kanu had been escorted out from the courtroom for unruly conduct.
Detainment History
Kanu was initially detained in October 2015 but he jumped bail in 2017 and left the country after a army operation on his home. The court later cancelled his bail in March 2019 and he was detained again in 2021 in Kenya.
Past Background
Demands for Biafran independence trace back many years.
In 1967 Igbo leaders proclaimed a state of Biafra, but after a brutal internal conflict, which led to the deaths of up to a million people, the secessionist rebellion was defeated.