A Nigerian court on Thursday convicted separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu on all seven terrorism-related charges at the end of a decade-long trial that has inflamed tensions in the country’s southeast.
Judge James Omotosho said prosecutors, who have called for Kanu to be sentenced to death, proved that his broadcasts and orders to his now banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group incited deadly attacks on security forces and citizens.
The violence was part of his push for an independent Biafra state for the ethnic Igbo-dominated region which attempted to secede as the Republic of Biafra in 1967, triggering a three-year civil war that killed more than 1 million people.
“His intention was quite clear as he believed in violence. These threats of violence were nothing but terrorist acts, which were duly carried out by his followers,” Omotosho said.
Security was tight around the Abuja court amid fears of protests and violence. Analysts warn that the conviction could stoke separatist sentiment and complicate efforts to restore calm in the region, where authorities blame IPOB for a wave of deadly attacks.
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