Two judges at the Court of Appeals on Thursday dropped terrorism charges against separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu that had been brought against him by the government.

The last of the three judges at the court was still reading their ruling.

The lead judge dismissed a seven count charge of terrorism against Kanu and discharged him, citing that a lower court had no jurisdiction to try the case and that Kanu was abducted and extraordinarily extradited to Nigeria.

This was a position the second judge agreed with.

Kanu leads the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which campaigns for the secession of a part of southeastern Nigeria where the majority belong to the Igbo ethnic group. Nigerian authorities have labelled IPOB a terrorist organisation.

He has denied charges of terrorism and knowingly broadcasting falsehoods, which are linked to social media posts he issued between 2018 and last year.

His lawyers argued that he could not receive a fair trial because he was forcefully extradited from Kenya to Nigeria. Kenya has declined to say if it played a role in Kanu's return.

Reuters