Nigeria, April 29 -- The terrorism trial of Nnamdi Kanu, a separatist campaigning for the secession of Biafra from Nigeria, kicked off on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, with the first prosecution witness testifying on the defendant's unflinching stance on the self-determination agitation.

Earlier on Tuesday, PREMIUM TIMES reported how trial judge James Omotosho granted the prosecution team permission to shield the identities of witnesses lined up to testify against Mr Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The case, featuring terrorism and treasonable felony charges, was originally instituted in 2015 following Mr Kanu's arrest in Lagos.

Major setbacks have held the case down for almost a decade,...