Nnamdi Kanu, Other Secessionists Who Have Been Jailed
- Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed IPOB, was recently handed multiple sentences, including life imprisonment, over the terror activities of the group
- Kanu would be the third secessionist activist who was sentenced to prison in contemporary Nigeria
- Nigeria has a history of two and a half years, which was fueled by secession agitation and claimed the lives of thousands of people
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Nigeria, as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, has faced lots of agitation for secession. The agitations have been led by individuals in contemporary Nigeria, and some of them have been jailed, including Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Soon after independence, the agitation for secession was the number one factor that led to the country's civil war, which lasted for two and a half years, leading to the death of several children and women.
Source: Twitter
Presently, Nigeria does not have a secession clause in its constitution, and the agitators have not been putting pressure on the lawmakers, as the constitution has continuously been reviewed.
Most of the agitators are Nigerians in the diaspora. At least three of them have been convicted and sentenced. Below is the list of them:
Adeyinka Grandson
This is one popular secessionist based in the United Kingdom. Adeyinka Grandson was the convener of the Young Yorubas for Freedom (YYF). He was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for the promotion of racial hatred in Nigeria.
According to The Cable, Grandson was first arrested in London in August 2019 over his social media post against the Igbo, the Hausa-Fulani ethnic groups.
In October 2020, Grandson appeared in a video and issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Igbo in Yorubaland to leave the region. Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka denounced the threat.
Weeks later, he was tried at the Southwark Crown Court. He was found guilty of inciting racial hatred and was subsequently sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
Simon Ekpa
Paijat-Hame District Court has sentenced Finnish-Nigerian separatist leader Simon Ekpa to six years in prison. Ekpa leads ‘Autopilot’, a faction within the proscribed IPOB, which is fighting for a breakaway state in south-eastern Nigeria.
On Monday, September 1, the Finnish court ruled that Ekpa had participated in a terrorist organisation and had publicly incited crimes for destructive purposes. The charges relate to Ekpa's activities, which aimed at re-establishing an independent state in Biafra, which was briefly independent in the late 1960s.
Source: Twitter
Nnamdi Kanu
The Federal High Court on Thursday, November 20, handed down multiple prison sentences to Nnamdi Kanu, including life imprisonment on Counts 1, 4, 5 and 6, all tied to terrorism-related offences. The court also imposed 20 years’ imprisonment on Count 3 and 5 years’ imprisonment on Count 7, both without the option of a fine.
According to the judgment, Nnamdi Kanu is to be denied any access to digital services, including phone, laptop, tablet, etc. The ruling noted that Kanu would only have access to the aforementioned on the discretion of the National Security Adviser (NSA).
Analyst reacts to Nnamdi Kanu's sentencing
Omotayo Yusuf, a political commentator, while speaking with Legit.ng on the court judgment concerning Kanu, posited that the ruling was a welcoming one and constitutional, citing the activities of group. He said:
"Frankly, I think the sentencing of Kanu, and this might be coming from the strong place of bias about how he has been going about his Biafra campaigns, which has led to the death of hundreds of people in the southeast region, I welcome the sentencing, it is constitutional."
Court explains how Kanu would do his sentencing
Legit.ng earlier reported that the federal high court in Abuja has sentenced the estranged leader of the proscribed IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, to life imprisonment.
While delivering the judgment, Justice James Omotosho ordered that Kanu should not be allowed to serve in the Kuje correctional centre and gave a reason.
The court also compelled Kanu not to have access to any electronic gadget, and if there is a need for that, it will have to be at the discretion of the NSA.
Source: Legit.ng
