I’m not a Nigerian citizen, says Nnamdi Kanu

The IPOB leader who said he would challenge the court order directing his arrest, also tackled the federal government over his prosecution, insisting he is innocent of the accusations against him.

Recall that a federal high court in Abuja had revoked the bail granted Kanu in 2017, after his continued absence in court. Binta Nyako, justice of the court, also issued an arrest warrant against the IPOB leader, citing the continued absence of the IPOB leader in court.

Kanu, who is facing trial alongside other Biafran activists for alleged treason, had gone into hiding months after his bail only to reappear in Israel after one year. He then moved to the UK.

Speaking during a broadcast on Radio Biafra on Saturday, Kanu said he has instructed his lawyers to challenge the arrest warrant in a UK court.

“First, I am not a Nigerian citizen. Your bail revocation will never ever work. Anybody interested in revoking my bail would have asked the army what they were doing in my place.”

The IPOB leader said the cause for a sovereign state of Biafra is not a crime, and that the group — which has already been banned and tagged a terrorist organisation — will continue to advocate for its cause.

“They have not even defined the crime they said I have committed. There is no crime in Nigeria called secession; secession is not a crime in Nigeria or anywhere in the world. Only armed rebellion is a crime, not self-determination,” said Kanu.

“If you are out to demoralise us, you will never ever succeed. We will continue to agitate; we continue to move forward because we are IPOB; we don’t relent and can never ever relent. Which crime did Nnamdi Kanu and his co-defendants commit? Somebody should name it. Secession is not a crime.”