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 said 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-east 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 sacked his lawyers but refused to defend himself.
He was not in court when the verdict was delivered, after being removed for unruly behaviour.
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, broadcast 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 organisation in 2017. Its armed wing – the Eastern Security Network – has been accused of killings and other acts of violence in recent years.
BBC
Leave a Reply