Nigeria’s secret terrorism trials raise human rights worries

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s decision to conduct the trials of suspects charged with terrorism behind closed doors has been criticized by human rights advocates. The West African nation last week began implementing a new court practice that bans the media and the public from trials involving terrorism charges at the start of the trial of a pro-Biafra separatist leader. Nnamdi Kanu, who holds dual Nigerian and British citizenship, leads the Indigenous People of Biafra campaigning for the secession from Nigeria of the Igbo, Nigeria’s third-largest ethnic group. Kanu’s trial started with an announcement by the nation’s Federal High Court that court proceedings for offences of terrorism “shall be held in camera,” prompting concern among many human rights advocates.