Nigerian separatist leader pleads not guilty to terrorism

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian separatist leader accused of instigating violence in country’s southeast has pleaded not guilty to terrorism and treason charges in a court in the capital, Abuja. Amid heavy security presence, Nnamdi Kanu, who also holds British citizenship, was brought into the court for his trial. Kanu leads the Indigenous People of Biafra, a group pressing for the southeast region to break away from Nigeria and become an independent nation. Kanu was first brought to trial in 2015 but he jumped bail and escaped the country in 2017. He was arrested abroad and extradited back to Nigeria in June this year.