ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The Indigenous People of Biafra, a separatist group in southeastern Nigeria, said Friday it remains committed to peaceful self-determination after a court sentenced its leader to life in prison for terrorism.

Nnamdi Kanu, founder of IPOB, was convicted and sentenced on Thursday.

IPOB has been accused of terrorism and extrajudicial killings in the country’s southeastern region where it has called for the creation of an independent state.

The separatist group condemned the sentence, claiming no weapons and “no attack plan” were ever found on Kanu and that the separatist leader did not commit any offenses under Nigerian or international law.

“We reaffirm our commitment to peaceful advocacy, international law and the pursuit of a United Nations–supervised referendum,”

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