MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th June, 2021) The leader of the Nigeria's Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) separatist group, Nnamdi Kanu, has been arrested and put on trial in the capital of Abuja, local newspaper Punch reported on Tuesday.
According to the newspaper, the country's justice minister and attorney general, Abubakar Malami, confirmed that Kanu was detained on June 27. However, no further details have been disclosed.
"Self-acclaimed leader of the proscribed secessionist Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has been arrested through the collaborative efforts of Nigerian intelligence and security services," Malami was cited as saying by the Punch.
Kanu has been charged, among others, with "instigating violence especially in the South Eastern Nigeria," the statement read.
The next court hearing is scheduled for July 26.
Kanu was previously detained in 2015 for terrorism and management of an illegal organization, but was let go on bail and fled the country. In 2017, the Nigerian government banned the IPOB.
