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General News of Wednesday, 30 June 2021

Source: www.mynigeria.com

Who is Nnamdi Kanu?

Nnamdi Kanu, Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra Nnamdi Kanu, Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra

Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nwannekaenyi Nnamdi Okwu Kanu, aged 53 was born in Isiama Afara, Abia state, Nigeria.

He attended Library Avenue Primary School and went to Government College Umuahia for his secondary education. He studied at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka before moving to the UK.

He rose to become a political activist for the Freedom Movement of the Biafran People and founded IPOB in 2014, with the aim of restoring the separatist state of Biafra which existed in the Eastern part of the country during the Nigerian Civil War.

On October 14, 2015, Kanu was arrested on treason charges in Lagos. He was detained for more than a year.

The IPOB leader who claimed to be a Jew and believed in Judaism, appeared in court wearing a Jewish prayer shawl and head covering.

After several attempts from different courts that ruled for his release, Kanu was later granted bail on April 28, 2017, on health grounds.

Kanu jumped bail and disappeared from public view after his home was raided by the Nigerian military, in September 2017, an event which led to the death of 28 IPOB members.

His disappearance from the public's eye for over a year, spurred wide speculation regarding his whereabouts, with members of the IPOB accusing the Buhari government of having abducted him.

In October 2018, unattributed photographs and videos, apparently placing him in Israel, were widely circulated on social media.

Although he resurfaced, his exact location and living place continued to remain unclear over the next years.

Kanu continued his activism and in December 2020, he announced that IPOB had set up a group called the Eastern Security Network (ESN) that will to defend southeastern Nigerians from bandits and armed Fulani herdsmen.

Early 2021, reports claim Nnamdi Kanu played a major part in the insurgency in the Southeastern Nigeria. The security operatives mobilized to stop the IPOB’s armed wing which led to a low-level Biafran uprising.

Kanu had always maintained that IPOB was interested in adopting a peaceful solution in achieving Biafran independence.

On Sunday, June 27, 2021, Kanu was arrested and sent to Nigeria where he will continue his trial on the charges of terrorism, unlawful possession of firearms, management of an unlawful society and treasonable felony.