Biafran Activist Nnamdi Kanu Sent Back to Jail

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A pro-Biafra supporter holds a poster of jailed activist Nnamdi Kanu during a protest calling for his release in Aba, southeastern Nigeria, on November 18, 2015. PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images

A Nigerian court has ordered that pro-Biafran activist Nnamdi Kanu will remain in prison, Premium Times reported.

Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) group, has been detained by the Nigerian State Security Service (DSS) since October 2015. The U.K.-based activist, who runs the underground Radio Biafra from London, was arrested on charges including ethnic incitement and sedition.

A federal high court in the Nigerian capital Abuja ordered in December 2015 that Kanu be granted unconditional bail and released from custody, but the Nigerian authorities filed fresh charges, including treason, and he remains in detention.

The DSS argued that Kanu should be kept in their custody, but Justice John Itsoho ordered on Wednesday that Kanu be remanded to a state prison in Kuje, in the Federal Capital Territory, according to IBTimes UK. The judge also adjourned the case until January 25.

Biafra existed as an independent republic in southeast Nigeria between 1967 and 1970. When Nigerian military officer Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu established the republic, it sparked a three-year civil war with the Nigerian state, in which more than one million people died.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has rejected calls for Kanu's release, citing concerns that the U.K.-based activist could jump bail.

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Conor is a staff writer for Newsweek covering Africa, with a focus on Nigeria, security and conflict.

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