Nigeria separatist leader acquitted of terrorism charges

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian separatist leader facing terrorism charges and accused of instigating violence in the country’s southeast has been acquitted by a local court, his lawyer told the Associated Press. Nnamdi Kanu was acquitted of the charges Thursday after a jury faulted the case against him, his lawyer said. The Indigenous People of Biafra separatist group that Kanu leads has been pressing for the southeast region to break away from the West African nation and become independent. His trial reechoed allegations of marginalization in Nigeria’s southeast region, which is made up of Igbos, Nigeria’s third-largest ethnic group who are mainly Christians. Nigeria’s more than 200 million people are almost evenly divided between Christians and Muslims.