10 Facts About Chris Anyanwu

Christiana "Chris" Anyanwu MFR was born on 28 October 1951 and is a Nigerian journalist, publisher, author, and politician.

Chris Anyanwu attended Owerri Girls Secondary School before moving to the US, where she earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and a master's degree in Mass Communication from Florida State University.

In May 1995 Chris Anyanwu was arrested following the publication of a story about a failed coup d'etat against the government of Sani Abacha, whom she had refused to endorse as president; she and several Nigerian journalists were accused of being "accessory after the fact of treason".

Chris Anyanwu was prosecuted in camera by a military court and sentenced to life imprisonment on 4 July 1995, later reduced to 15 years in October 1995 following pressure from national and international human rights groups.

In June 1998, following the death of President Abacha and several protests from human rights groups worldwide, Chris Anyanwu was released by Abacha's successor General Abdulsalam Abubakar on health grounds.

Chris Anyanwu spent two years in Virginia, during which she wrote the book Days of Terror about Nigeria's struggle during the dictatorship.

In 2005, Chris Anyanwu opened her radio station Hot 98.3 FM, based in Abuja.