Tension gripped Abuja on Monday when officers of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command reportedly clamped down on peaceful demonstrators demanding the release of detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. The protest, organized under the banner of the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow movement, ended abruptly in chaos, leaving several people injured and many others arrested.
Among those taken into custody were Prince Emmanuel Kanu, younger brother of the IPOB leader, and Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu’s lead counsel. Witnesses claimed that both men, along with numerous activists and bystanders, were forcibly detained near the Unity Fountain, a popular rallying point in the nation’s capital.
According to videos and eyewitness accounts circulating online, heavily armed police officers stormed the area in several patrol trucks and fired multiple rounds of teargas to disperse the crowd. Protesters, who were reportedly unarmed, were seen waving placards and chanting slogans calling for justice and compliance with court orders.
“They came shooting teargas and beating anyone in sight,” one eyewitness recounted. “Even when Ejimakor and Emmanuel tried to talk to them calmly, they were dragged into police vehicles.”
The demonstration was held to mark yet another year of Kanu’s continued detention by the Department of State Services (DSS), despite an October 2022 Court of Appeal ruling that discharged and acquitted him of all terrorism-related charges and ordered his immediate release. The federal government, however, has continued to hold him, citing security concerns and ongoing appeals.
Human rights organizations and pro-democracy groups have condemned the latest police action, calling it a blatant violation of citizens’ rights to peaceful protest and freedom of expression.
“This is a sad reflection of the shrinking democratic space in Nigeria,” said the Coalition for Justice and Civil Liberty (CJCL) in a statement. “The violent dispersal of peaceful protesters shows that the government is intolerant of dissent and unwilling to obey its own courts.”
The arrests have sparked widespread outrage on social media, with many Nigerians demanding the immediate release of those detained and renewed calls for the federal government to respect judicial rulings.
