Republic of Biafra, Kanu reportedly told a group of IPOB members and civil war veterans: “We shall fight until we get Biafra. If they don’t give us Biafra, no human being will remain alive in Nigeria by that time.”Nigeria’s president has said relatively little on the subject of Kanu’s arrest or the Biafran issue.
In December, Buhari told journalists that Kanu had entered the country without a passport—a claim Kanu disputes. “There’s a treasonable felony against him, and I hope the court will listen to the case,” Buhari said. Since then, the president has kept silent, and the government has declined repeated requests from Newsweek for further comment.
With pro-Biafra protesters rallying around Kanu’s arrest, the outcome of the trial could heighten tensions between the activists and the government.
“The significance of Kanu’s trial can only be determined by what follows after,” says Manji Cheto, an Africa analyst at U.K.-based risk consultancy Teneo Intelligence.
“Should IPOB react violently, it could potentially be a tipping point for the Biafra agitation.”
Pro-Biafra activists wave flags in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, February 28. Pope Francis greeted spoke of the activists as indigenous peoples of Biafra during his Angelus address. | Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images
