How Nnamdi Kanu was arrested by the Interpol in Ethiopia

Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was arrested and extradited to Nigeria on Sunday.

The IPOB leader, who was in court facing charges bordering on treasonable felony for his campaign for the secession of Republic of Biafra, jumped bail in 2017 after a military action, code-named “Operation Python Dance”, targeted his family house in Abia state.

Kanu has been living in London since then but Nigerian security officials say that the operation to re-arrest and put him back on trial had been “ongoing for a while” until success was recorded on Sunday, June 27.

Since news of his arrest broke on Tuesday afternoon, some have speculated that he was arrested by British officials where he lives others speculated that he was kidnapped and crated back to Nigeria to face trial.

“He was not arrested in the UK or Brazil or Czech Republic. He was not crated either, contrary to speculations,” a security source told newsmen.

Nigeria’s Minister for justice Abubakar Malami, who broke the news to reporters also failed to mention how exactly the Ipob leader was arrested, simply saying he was “intercepted” and extradited to Nigeria.

However, several reports online have painted a clearer picture of how Kanu was arrested, a report in TheWill said he was intercepted in Ethiopia after Abubakar Malami had written to authorities in that country and sort the assistance of Interpol to facilitate the arrest.

Another report on ThisDay specifically named Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, as the location.

The publication further said Kanu was lured by security operatives with the impression that he was going to be given some “millions of dollars” in cash donations to the cause of his organization.

He was said to have decided to collect the money himself “because of the huge amount involved”.

Kanu even kept his associates in the dark about his mission, according to the security sources who said the top hierarchy did not know his whereabouts on the day he was arrested.

His lifestyles consisted mostly of going out with different women, buying expensive pieces of jewelry, chartering aircraft, and drinks. And because he got many gullible people who were donating to his so-called IPOB, he had so much money to play with such that he even hired lobby groups for his propaganda activities,” the security source told THISDAY.

Nnamdi Kanu has since been remanded to DSS custody where he will remain until his trial resumes on July 26.