Nigeria's Supreme Court on Friday overturned a judgment by a lower court that dropped terrorism charges against separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu, ruling that he should stay in detention.
Kanu, a British citizen who leads the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), disappeared from Nigeria after skipping bail in 2017. He was arrested in Kenya in 2021 and charged with terrorism.
Supreme Court judge Lawal Garba ruled that Kanu's seven-count terrorism trial at a lower federal court should continue.
Kanu had denied the charges of terrorism and knowingly broadcasting falsehoods, which are linked to social media posts he issued between 2018 and last year.
Kanu's IPOB campaigns for the secession of a part of southeastern Nigeria where the majority belong to the Igbo ethnic group. Nigerian authorities have labeled IPOB a terrorist organisation.
An attempt by the southeastern region to secede as the Republic of Biafra in 1967 — the year that Kanu was born — triggered a three-year civil war that killed more than 1-million people.
Nigeria Supreme Court blocks release of separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu
Image: REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde
Nigeria's Supreme Court on Friday overturned a judgment by a lower court that dropped terrorism charges against separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu, ruling that he should stay in detention.
Kanu, a British citizen who leads the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), disappeared from Nigeria after skipping bail in 2017. He was arrested in Kenya in 2021 and charged with terrorism.
Supreme Court judge Lawal Garba ruled that Kanu's seven-count terrorism trial at a lower federal court should continue.
Kanu had denied the charges of terrorism and knowingly broadcasting falsehoods, which are linked to social media posts he issued between 2018 and last year.
Kanu's IPOB campaigns for the secession of a part of southeastern Nigeria where the majority belong to the Igbo ethnic group. Nigerian authorities have labeled IPOB a terrorist organisation.
An attempt by the southeastern region to secede as the Republic of Biafra in 1967 — the year that Kanu was born — triggered a three-year civil war that killed more than 1-million people.
READ MORE:
Gunmen kill four soldiers, kidnap two South Korean workers in Nigeria oil region
African online retailer Jumia to cease food delivery business
Nigeria mulls handing over power utilities to state
Nigeria's Dangote refinery receives first crude cargo
Armed men abduct 8 in northern Nigeria state, residents say
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most read
Latest Videos