Pandemonium, Sowore, others flee as Police disperse #FreeNnamdiKanu Protesters
Pandemonium, Sowore, others flee as Police disperse #FreeNnamdiKanu Protesters
Security operatives fired tear gas on Monday to disperse protesters demanding the release of Nnamdi Kanu in the nation’s capital. The demonstration, led by activist Omoyele Sowore, defied a court injunction and police warnings.
Protesters marched through key areas of the Federal Capital Territory, chanting, “Free Nnamdi Kanu now,” “It’s our constitutional right to protest,” and “Don’t tear gas us,” before being forced to scatter. Some shouted defiantly, “Tear gas cannot stop us,” as they fled the scene.
The #FreeNnamdiKanuNow march began near Transcorp Hilton and other locations across Abuja.
Police and soldiers had deployed early, positioning operatives along major routes to Aso Rock, with heavy security at Eagle Square, Unity Fountain, and the Three Arms Zone.
All access roads to the Federal Secretariat and sensitive government areas were barricaded, while Unity Fountain, the protest take-off point, was blocked to both motorists and pedestrians.
Heavily armed personnel patrolled the area, leaving sections of the city effectively inaccessible.
A separate crowd near the Nigeria Union of Journalists secretariat in Utako, which was not part of the protest, was also dispersed after security operatives fired tear gas.
Sowore said the organisers had notified police about the protest in advance. He alleged that some protesters “were arrested and bystanders were forced into police vehicles.”
He condemned Kanu’s extended detention and urged the Federal Government to “present its evidence before the court,” describing the proceedings as a “deliberate attempt to obstruct justice.”
The protest violated an interim injunction issued by Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court, which restricted demonstrations around the Presidential Villa, National Assembly, Force Headquarters, and other sensitive locations.
Police had warned that any violation of the order would lead to arrests, adding that digital evidence would track social media incitement.
Sowore, however, rejected the validity of the court order, questioning why no similar order targeted those opposing Kanu’s release.
He also revealed that 115 lawyers were prepared to challenge the alleged injunction once formally served.
Nnamdi Kanu leads the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
He was first arrested in 2015 on treason charges and released on bail, but fled during his trial.
Kanu was re-arrested in Kenya in 2021 and extradited to Nigeria under controversial circumstances.
The Federal High Court recently dismissed his no-case submission, and he is now set to face terrorism charges.
