Nigerian Authorities Arrest Leader of Separatist Movement

NIGERIAN AUTHORITIES ARREST LEADER OF SEPARATIST MOVEMENT

Nigerian authorities arrested Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of a separatist movement active in the nation’s southeastern region.

Kanu, who fled Nigeria in 2018 while on trial for treason, is currently at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Umar Gwandu, spokesman for Attorney-General Abubakar Malami, said by phone.

The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra movement,

known as IPOB, has been returned to Nigeria “to continue facing trial after disappearing when on bail,” Malami told reporters on Tuesday.

Kanu, who arrived in the West African nation on June 27, is “accused of engaging in subversive activities that include inciting violence through television, radio and online broadcasts against the Nigerian state and institutions,” he said.

Neither Malami nor Gwandu revealed in which country Kanu was detained before being extradited. The IPOB leader was “intercepted through the collaborative effor

ts of the Nigerian intelligence and security services,” Malami said.

Nigeria’s government declared IPOB a terrorist group in 2017 and has blamed recent attacks targeting security agents in southeastern Nigeria on the group’s armed wing.