A Nigerian court on Thursday convicted separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu of seven terrorism-related charges.
Kanu founded the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which has been accused of terrorism and extra-judicial killings in the country’s eastern region.
Kanu had called for the creation of an independent state out of southeastern Nigeria. He has sought to revive the short-lived Biafra, a seceded region of Nigeria between 1967 and 1970, which sparked the Nigerian Civil War during that period. At least 3 million people were killed before the Biafran troops surrendered.
Kanu was re-arrested in 2021 and brought back from Kenya after initially failing to appear in court in 2015.
“The right to self-determination is a political right. Any self-determination not done according to the constitution of Nigeria is illegal," Judge James Omotosho said.