The leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, was lured to Ethiopia with a promise of cash donation in millions of dollars.
Kanu who had jumped bail before he was rearrested on Sunday and brought back to Nigeria was facing charges bordering on treasonable felony, due to his campaign for the secession of Republic of Biafra.
He jumped bail in 2017 after a military action, code-named “Operation Python Dance”, targeted his family house in Abia state.
Reports quoted security sources to have said that Kanu was neither re-arrested in the UK where he had lived after he jumped bail, nor crated as speculated by some people.
Several speculations abound because the Nigerian Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami who announced Kanu’s arrest and extradition refused to revealed in which country he was arrested.
However, an online newspaper, THEWILL reported that the “interception” took place in Ethiopia, where it said Kanu had been living for a while.
It was said that 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.
Kanu was said to have decided to collect the money himself “because of the huge amount involved”, and kept his associates in the dark about his mission
Kanu was also said to 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, a security source said.
Kanu will appear in court in July 26.
