Nigeria Mobilises Prosecutors Against Separatist Leader Kanu, Considers Mass Murder Charge

Nigeria’s federal government is raising a crack team of lawyers to prosecute the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, who was intercepted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Friday and repatriated to Nigeria under the cover of darkness on Sunday.

Kanu had vanished from Nigeria after Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, where he was standing trial for a six-count charge, granted him bail in April 2017. His bail was subsequently revoked in September 2019 following his persistent absence from court.

Following his breach of the bail conditions, the security and intelligence agencies went on his trail, eventually tracking him down to Addis Ababa on Thursday, where his arrest was made on Friday by Interpol that handed him over to the operatives of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), which arranged his repatriation to Nigeria on Sunday.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, announced to an unsuspecting nation on Tuesday, the re-arrest of Kanu and his re-arraignment in court on an 11-count charge, including a treasonable felony.

But THISDAY learnt Wednesday night from competent sources that the justice ministry spent most of Tuesday night mobilising seasoned criminal lawyers in its prosecution department to draft fresh charges that might swell the list of accusations against Kanu to include mass murder.

Sources told THISDAY that security and intelligence agents have credible evidence linking the IPOB leader to the murder of hundreds of people, including those killed during the multiple attacks on police, custodian centre and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) facilities in the South-east and parts of the South-south.

“We have credible evidence of his instructions to IPOB hierarchy to kill security officials and other persons that are seen to be against the group’s agitations,” a security source said, adding: “We have direct links between his several inciting video and audio messages and the violence in the South-east that has led to the killing of more than 100 persons.”

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Alex Enumah

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