Kanu and Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari claimed on Tuesday that activities of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Nnamdi Kanu is being funded by finds which include proceeds of suspected illicit criminal activities.

The President said this while reacting to last to June 20 interception of Kanu “through the collaborative efforts of Nigerian intelligence and security services,” as announced by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.

On arrival in the country, Kanu was arraigned before Binta Nyako, and subsequently remanded in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), while the case was adjourned till July 26.

In his first reaction to the arrest of the Biafra agitator, the President failed to address the controversies over how and when Kanu was arrested in a statement signed by Garba Shehu, media aide to President Buhari.

However, the presidency said it has been monitoring the activities of IPOB and believes that the funding sources of the group “include proceeds of suspected illicit criminal activities”.

As stated in the statement, the IPOB leader was arrested, through “cross-border cooperation”.

“The subversive leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group known for its murderous actions and virulent messaging, was detained as a result of cross-border cooperation,” the statement reads.

“This international operation was executed in a closely coordinated fashion following which he was handed over to our national intelligence agency, and then returned to Nigeria to face the law.

“The violence inspired by IPOB has led to hundreds of fatalities, particularly targeted at government assets and law enforcement agents.

“Additionally, there have been at last count, fifty (55) separate violent attacks, heavily concentrated in the South-East, which heaped further hardship on our honest and hardworking citizens, preventing them from earning their livelihood and going about their normal lives.”