A court in Nigeria has found separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu guilty of terrorism following a decade-long legal case filled with drama.
The court stated it 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, including terrorism, treason, and involvement with an outlawed movement. The court has adjourned, with the judge expected to hand down a sentencing soon. Kanu could face the death penalty, although executions are rare in Nigeria.
Kanu has consistently denied the charges and challenged the court's jurisdiction over his case.
Initially a relatively obscure figure, he rose to national prominence in 2009 with the launch of Radio Biafra, a station advocating for the independence of the Igbo people that broadcasted from London. Kanu, who holds British nationality, founded the Indigenous People Of Biafra (Ipob) in 2014, which was banned as a terrorist organization in 2017. Its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network, has been accused of violent acts in recent years.
Judge James Omotosho claimed, Mr Kanu knew what he was doing; he was bent on carrying out these threats without consideration to his own people, supporting the verdict with conclusive evidence of Kanu's activities.
Reactions in Kanu’s stronghold in south-eastern Nigeria have been muted following the verdict. Kanu had earlier expressed grievances about the trial proceedings, alleging bias and misinterpretation of the law.
His tumultuous legal journey includes an arrest in 2015, a bail jump in 2017, and a dramatic re-arrest after the Nigerian government announced he had been detained in Kenya. In 2022, an appeal court ordered the charges against him to be dropped; however, the Supreme Court later reversed this ruling.
The struggle for Biafran independence traces back several decades, with a painful history rooted in the Nigerian Civil War that resulted in a significant loss of life. Many Igbo people still feel marginalized by the Nigerian state despite the unclear public support for independence.
