IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu still missing ahead of treason trial

Pro-Biafra leader, Nnamdi Kanu is expected to be in court on Tuesday October 17 for the commencement of his treason trial, but reports indicate that Kanu is still missing.

The 50-year-old has not been seen in public since a clash between the army and members of his group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in mid-September this year.

Kanu spent about 18 months in prison before he was granted bail by an Abuja High Court in April this year. The court slated October 2017 for his trial on charges of treason against the Nigerian State, attack on state security etc.

Even though the army has publicly stated that he is not in their custody, according to a relative, Nnamdi Kanu is held in secret by the military ever since they attacked his family house in Umuahia on September 14.

His lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, is on record to have stated that it is only the army that can tell the whereabout of his missing client. Political watchers are also waiting to see what steps the court will take with Kanu’s sureties.

The government has moved to obtain a court order declaring IPOB a terrorist organization, a position his lawyer has challenged. The Nigerian government said it had sought mutual legal assistance with foreign governments to help cut sources of funding of the group.

The disappearance of Kanu raises fears of renewed outbreak of violence in southeastern Nigeria, 50 years after the civil war following the declaration of independence of Biafra in 1967.