Biafra separatist leader arrested and extradited to Nigeria
The fugitive leader of a prominent Biafra secessionist group has been arrested and extradited to Nigeria to face trial, in a move likely to inflame separatist unrest in south-east Nigeria.
Nnamdi Kanu, a British national who has lived in south
London, had been wanted by Nigerian authorities since 2015, when he was charged
with terrorism offences and incitement, after broadcasts aired on Radio Biafra,
a digital station he founded and ran from his home in Peckham.
Nigeria’s attorney general, Abubakar Malami, said on Tuesday
that Kanu had been extradited to the capital Abuja, after cooperation between
Nigerian intelligence services and Interpol.
“He has been brought back to Nigeria in order to continue
facing trial after disappearing while on bail,” Malami said. He accused Kanu of
“engaging in subversive activities” and also alleged that Kanu was responsible
for armed attacks.
Malami did not say where Kanu was extradited from, although
British government officials have said he was not arrested in the UK. British
MPs have in the past raised concerns for Kanu’s wellbeing while held in
detention in Nigeria.
A lawyer for Kanu confirmed the arrest. “He was brought
before the Federal High Court … today on an 11 count charge, though without our
knowledge,” Ifeanyi Ejiofor said in a statement.
Kanu is the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra
(Ipob), a secessionist group which has been proscribed as a terrorist
organisation in Nigeria. In recent months, police have blamed Ipob for a series
of arson attacks and killings targeting police units and civil authorities
across southern Nigeria.
Kano was first arrested in Nigeria in 2015, and was granted
bail on medical grounds in 2017 before fleeing the country.
His prominence in Nigeria has soared in recent years, as
secessionist sentiment for an independent country of Biafra in south-east
Nigeria has seen a marked rise.
Secessionist sentiment was inflamed by the 2015 election of
President Muhamadu Buhari who was a brigade major during the Biafra civil war,
one of the darkest chapters in Nigerian history where an attempt to form an
independent Biafran state was quelled.
Millions of people in south-east Nigeria died, many from
starvation after a government blockade of the region prevented food supplies
and humanitarian support.
Earlier this month, Twitter deleted a post by Buhari for
violating its rules on abuse, after he referred to the civil war in a threat
against armed Biafran groups.
“Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through
the war, will treat them in the language they understand,” the president said,
drawing mass condemnation.
In retaliation for the deletion, the government soon after
banned Twitter in Nigeria.
The legacy of the war is still bitter. Authorities censor
cultural depictions of the conflict and the war is not taught in most schools.
Since 2015, secessionist protests have met a brutal response
by Nigerian security forces. More than 150 people were killed at pro-Biafra
rallies between August 2015 and August 2016 according to Amnesty International.
Security operations in south-east Nigeria, a largely
ethnically Igbo region, have received allegations of rights abuses against
civilians. Armed attacks blamed on pro-Biafran groups have soared this year.
Since fleeing Nigeria, Kanu had been sighted in different
countries including Israel.
His fierce monologues on Radio Biafra, taunting President
Buhari, targeting ethnic groups and calling for armed uprising have drawn an
international following – and also the ire of Nigerian authorities.
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