Kanu – Anxiety Mounts Over Whereabout of Biafra Separatists Leader

Nnamdi Kanu

Kanu – Anxiety Mounts Over Whereabout of Biafra Separatists Leader

Speculations are building up in Nigeria over the whereabouts of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of a Biafran separatist group, Independent People of Biafra (IPOB).

It was expected that Kanu would show up in a Federal High Court in Abuja Nigeria today for continuation of his trial. But he did not.

Nnamdi Kanu has not been seen for several weeks after his home was raided by a team of Nigerian military in an exercise termed ‘Operation Python Dance’. His lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, told the Federal High Court in Abuja his client was “in the custody of the (federal government)”.

Meanwhile, a prominent Nigerian, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who signed as a surety for Kanu’s bail application some months ago has applied to withdraw as his sureties.

Senator Abaribe  asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to revoke the undertaken he took on behalf of the leader of the indigenous People of Biafra.

Abaribe  said he had not heard from Kanu nor knew his whereabouts since September 11 when the military raided his country home in Abia State.

Kanu is facing a number of charges linked to his calls for a separate state for the Igbo people who dominate the southeast Nigeria.

The Guardian reports that Kanu was first arrested in October 2015, stoking long-held grievances that have festered since a previous declaration of independence in 1967 sparked a bloody, 30-month civil war.

“The judge ordered him not to attend any rally, be in a crowd of more than 10 people or give any media interviews while on bail.

He was ordered to pay sureties totalling 300 million naira ($835,000, 710,000 euros) to ensure his attendance at trial.

Kanu’s whereabouts have been the source of increasing speculation in recent weeks, after a military surge in his home city of Umuahia and the surrounding area.

The IPOB leader’s younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, said the army attacked the family’s compound last month, killing 28.

The army has denied the claim and also that they were holding Kanu, as their tactics come in for criticism for fuelling tensions in the restive region.