NIGERIA: Kanu appears in court, charges amended, state withholds details

By: Ollus Ndomu

The incarcerated Indigenous People’s of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu appeared in Abuja court for trial after four months of being in detention.

Kanu who is facing charges including terrorism, treason, publishing defamatory materials and running an illegal company, was arrested in June this year in Kenya and later extradited to Nigeria, a move which international rights groups described as “illegal.”

The IPOB leader was briefly produced in court on Thursday amidst a heavy presence of state security agents and local media say his charges have been amended but the government has withheld the fresh details.

His prolonged detention in which he has not yet taken plea, has continued to fuel tension among pro-Biafra activists who in July reacted sharply to the government’s failure to present their outspoken leader in court for trial.

Kanu’s lawyers who had it difficult to enter the court said their client was being held in solitary confinement under the guard of the Nigerian secret police.

Meanwhile, Biafra agitators have remained active in the south-east region and had earlier threatened to impose a month-long curfew in the region if their leader was not produced in court for trial.