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The Federal Government has apprehended Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) who has been on the run after jumping bail.
Announcing the arrest of Kanu (a self-proclaimed leader of IPOB), Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami(SAN), revealed how Kanu was arrested and repatriated to Nigeria on Sunday.
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He said the arrest followed a collaborative effort between security agencies in Nigeria and the Interpol.
Malami further disclosed that Kanu would be taken before the Federal High Court in Abuja for continuation of his trial on charges bordering on terrorism, treasonable felony, unlawful possession of firearms and management of an unlawful society.
According to a source close to the presidency, Kanu was said to have earlier escaped arrest in United Kingdom after security operative went for him following a petition by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to United Kingdom seeking his repatriation to Nigeria.
You would recall that in 2017, Nnamdi Kanu and the Indigenous people of Biafra were declared a terrorist group by President Muhammadu Buhari and he was apprehended by security operatives.
Kanu was facing a treason and terrorism charges before Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, and was granted bail in April 2017 on health grounds. As part of the bail conditions, Kanu was required to produce three sureties who would sign a bail bond of N100 million which they would stand to forfeit should the accused person jump bail.
According to the ruling at the time, One of the sureties must be a senior highly placed person of Igbo extraction such as a senator, the second must be a highly respected Jewish leader since Kanu said his religion is Judaism, and the third surety must be a highly respected person who owns landed property and is resident in Abuja.
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Kanu was subsequently released on bail and the following persons stood surety for him: Enyinnaya Abaribe, the Senator representing Abia South Senatorial District; Ben El-Shalom, a Jewish priest, and Tochukwu Uchendu, an accountant.
However, Kanu’s whereabouts have been unknown since September 2017, when Nigerian soldiers allegedly raided his home in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, following the proscribing of the IPOB by the federal government.
Kanu has caused reactions as a result of his controversial statements for the alleged freedom of the Igbo people and the setting up of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) which has created a lot of controversy and chaos in Nigeria.
Just recently, a coalition of 75 Northern groups under the aegis of Northern Consensus Movement has placed N100 million for anybody who could produce the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, for him to continue his trial over alleged treason.
The NCM specifically accused Kanu and IPOB militant wing, Eastern Security Network of masterminding the recent spate of attacks on Northern communities in the South East.
The declaration came one week after the declaration by Igbo Elders Council that more than 5,000 Igbo youths have been killed and over 10,000 others, thrown into detention camps in the ongoing special security operation in the South-East.