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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Nnamdi Kanu: Nigerian court drops charges against separatist Ipob leader | Nnamdi Kanu: Nigerian court drops charges against separatist Ipob leader |
| (about 16 hours later) | |
| Nnamdi Kanu - who holds a UK passport - fled Nigeria in 2017 before being arrested in 2021 | Nnamdi Kanu - who holds a UK passport - fled Nigeria in 2017 before being arrested in 2021 |
| Nigeria's Appeal Court has dropped all charges against separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu after ruling that he had been illegally arrested abroad. | Nigeria's Appeal Court has dropped all charges against separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu after ruling that he had been illegally arrested abroad. |
| The court also ruled that his extradition was illegal. | |
| The ruling by a panel of three judges is seen as a major blow to the government which had detained Mr Kanu on various treason and terrorism-related charges. | The ruling by a panel of three judges is seen as a major blow to the government which had detained Mr Kanu on various treason and terrorism-related charges. |
| But the government says it will explore other legal options. | |
| "Kanu was only discharged and not acquitted," said a spokesperson for Attorney General Abubakar Malami, so it appears unlikely he will be freed imminently. | |
| The Attorney General's office added that the court's decision was only based on the extradition of Mr Kanu, and did not apply to those charges that predate it which "remain valid issues for judicial determination". | |
| The leader of the banned indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) group was originally arrested in 2015 but he fled Nigeria in 2017 while out on bail. | |
| He has denied any wrongdoing. | |
| Africa Live: Updates on this and other stories | |
| Ipob is campaigning for the creation of an independent state in south-eastern Nigeria. | Ipob is campaigning for the creation of an independent state in south-eastern Nigeria. |
| Mr Kanu - who holds a UK passport - was seized and sent back home in 2021. | |
| The court ruled that his 2021 arrest abroad was illegal because extradition protocol was not followed. | |
| His lawyers say he was detained in Kenya, which has not commented on whether it played a role in Mr Kanu's deportation to Nigeria. | |
| The Appeal Court also ruled the Federal High Court did not have the jurisdiction to try Mr Kanu. | The Appeal Court also ruled the Federal High Court did not have the jurisdiction to try Mr Kanu. |
| He initially faced 15 charges, but eight had previously been dropped. | He initially faced 15 charges, but eight had previously been dropped. |
| Ipob wants a group of states in the south-east of the country, largely inhabited by members of the Igbo ethnic group, to break away from Nigeria and form an independent nation called Biafra. | Ipob wants a group of states in the south-east of the country, largely inhabited by members of the Igbo ethnic group, to break away from Nigeria and form an independent nation called Biafra. |
| In 1967 Igbo leaders declared independence for the state of Biafra, but after a civil war, which led to the deaths of up to a million people, the secessionist rebellion was defeated. | In 1967 Igbo leaders declared independence for the state of Biafra, but after a civil war, which led to the deaths of up to a million people, the secessionist rebellion was defeated. |
| But the idea of Biafra has never gone away and despite the arrests of his members, Mr Kanu's movement has seen a recent swell in its numbers. | But the idea of Biafra has never gone away and despite the arrests of his members, Mr Kanu's movement has seen a recent swell in its numbers. |