At his much-awaited trial on Thursday, detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, pleaded not guilty to the seven-count amended charge bought against him by the Federal Government.
The IPOB leader maintained his innocence of all seven allegations when he was arranged before Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja after the charge was read to him in the courtroom.
Justice Nyako adjourned the case to November 10, 2021.
Kanu was subsequently taken back to the custody of the Department of State Service, on the orders of Justice Nyako, who declined to grant Kanu’s request to be transferred to a correctional centre.
Kanu’s re-arraignment had evoked a lot of tension in the southeast of Nigeria, where his group, IPOB, and its military wing, the Eastern Security Network, have been fighting for his reason.
IPOB had threatened to impose on the southeast a month-long sit-at-home order if the government failed to produce Kanu in court on Thursday (today). Already, the group has forced the region to observe a weekly sit-at-home order everyone Monday, when all economic and social activities are grounded in the region. Those who defy the order are usually punished, and many people have been killed as a result of that.
Reports from the southeast region said streets were deserted and markets closed in parts of the region, including Umuahia, where Kanu hails from.
