Why Nigeria Is Facing Secessionist Fervor, Again

Almost half a century after a secessionist war in southeastern Nigeria ended, a renewed push for an independent state known as Biafra is stoking fresh conflict. Thousands of troops have been deployed in the region, which is mainly populated by ethnic Igbos. The forces have rounded up scores of members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, or Ipob, the main group behind the breakaway campaign, several people have died in clashes, and Ipob’s popular leader has gone missing after a military raid at his home.

In short, a new leader. Nnamdi Kanu, 45, has injected new life into the secessionist movement. Previously a member of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, Kanu quit to form Ipob in 2012. A citizen of both Nigeria and the U.K., he set up the London-based Radio Biafra, which broadcast calls for independence across Nigeria’s southeastern states and hurled insults at the authorities. After years of eluding the authorities, Kanu was arrested in Lagos in 2015 and charged with terrorism and treason. He was released on bail, and his trial is due to resume Oct. 17. If convicted, he could face a death sentence. Kanu hasn’t been seen or heard from since a raid by security forces on his home in the city of Umuahia Sept. 14, his lawyer Ifeanyi Ejiofor said in a Sept. 20 statement.