The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu was arrested on June 27, 2021 after he had been lured from the UK to an African country with a promise of cash donation in millions of dollars.
Kanu was facing charges bordering on treasonable felony following his campaign for the secession of Republic of Biafra. He jumped bail and fled Nigeria in 2017 after a military action, code-named “Operation Python Dance”, targeted his family house in Abia state.
The operation to re-arrest and put him back on trial had been ongoing for a while until his arrest on Sunday.
THISDAY reported tha the IPOB leader was arrested in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia.
Kanu was tracked through some members of IPOB who were recently arrested following a massive military operation in the south-east.
The security agencies worked through the links to give the IPOB leader the impression that he was going to be given some “millions of dollars” in cash donations to the organisation.
He was said to have decided to collect the money himself “because of the huge amount involved”.
Kanu even kept his associates in the dark about his mission, according to the security sources who said the top hierarchy did not know his whereabouts on the day he was arrested.
He had been having a crisis of confidence with some of his lieutenants over financial matters.
On arriving at the location where he was to collect the ‘donation’, he was arrested by that country’s security agencies and Interpol, and deported to Nigeria, the source said.
This has brought an end to the long-running episode since he left Nigeria while on bail.
His trial is to resume on July 26.
