Nigerian separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu convicted of terrorism charges

A Nigerian court on Thursday convicted separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu on terrorism-related charges, according to a ruling by Judge James Omotosho.

Omotosho said prosecutors proved that Kanu's broadcasts and orders to his now banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group, incited deadly attacks on security forces and citizens in the southeast as part of his push for an independent Biafra state.

An attempt by the region to secede as the Republic of Biafra in 1967 triggered a three-year civil war that killed more than 1 million people.

Kanu was first arrested in 2015 but disappeared from Nigeria while on bail in 2017.

He was subsequently arrested in Kenya in 2021 and charged in Nigeria with seven counts of terrorism. Kanu pleaded not guilty to the seven counts of terrorism.