The Biafran separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu has been sentenced to life in prison on terrorism-related charges by a court in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
Judge James Omotosho said prosecutors had shown that Kanu, who also holds British citizenship, had used his Indigenous People of Biafra group (Ipob) to incite attacks on security officials and civilians in south-east Nigeria and during anti-police protests in Lagos. “The court finds that the defendant, Nnamdi Kanu, is an international terrorist and must be treated accordingly,” Omotosho said.
Kanu, 58, who had dismissed his legal team and represented himself during the trial, was earlier ejected from court for “unruly” behaviour. Before his removal, he challenged the judge, saying: “Which law states that you can charge me on an unwritten law? Show me.”
Kanu sought to revive the short-lived state of Biafra, which seceded from Nigeria in 1967, sparking a civil war during which up to 3 million people died. Ipob, seen as the most consequential secessionist movement, relied on Kanu’s oratory on Radio Biafra.
During Kanu’s time in prison, a splinter group emerged, the Biafran Government in Exile, whose self-declared prime minister, Simon Ekpa, was sentenced to six years on terrorism-related charges by a Finnish court in September. Both groups have been accused of a campaign of terror in south-east Nigeria, with militants violently enforcing Monday “sit-at-home days”.
Since 2017, Ipob has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the Nigerian government. Reports in Nigeria have linked Kanu’s lobbying efforts in the US to the recent designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” by Donald Trump.
