Eight people, including a lawyer Aloy Ejimakor and a relative to Nnamdi Kanu, Fineboy Kanu were arrested during yesterday’s #FreeNnamadiKanuNow protest in parts of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Police spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin, who confirmed the arrest of protesters, said they would be arraigned in court.
Hundeyin also dispelled speculations that live bullets were fired at protesters.
According to him, the police, in line with Standard Operating Practice (SOP) fired teargas to disperse protesters who attempted to cross into the areas from where they were restricted by a court order.
‘I can state categorically, authoritatively, that no live ammunition was fired. It’s very easy for people unfamiliar with the sounds to mistake the firing of tear gas for live ammunition.’
‘They (those arrested) are currently at the state CID. Once we conclude investigations, they will be prosecuted,’ he added.
He argued that the police obtained an order from the Federal High Court restricting protesters from accessing certain parts of the FCT and key national institutions.
The action against the protesters, according to him, was taken based on intelligence reports suggesting that the protest could degenerate into violence.
‘There was a group that protested along this road some years back, and it was anarchy. We saw ambulances burnt down. We cannot allow that to happen again,’ Hundeyin recalled.
Heavy security locks down Abuja
Protest for the release of Kanu, sparked a sweeping security lockdown around the Presidential Villa and other parts of Abuja, causing gridlock on many roads.
The demonstration, led by the convener of the #RevolutionNow movement, Omoyele Sowore, had prompted heightened security across the FCT.
By dawn, combined teams of soldiers, police officers, and operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) had mounted barricades on major entry points leading into the Central Business District (CBD), paralysing vehicular movements and leaving thousands of commuters stranded.
Access to the Three Arms Zone-housing the Presidential Villa, the National Assembly, and the Supreme Court-was severely restricted, with stringent stop-and-search operations in place.
Staff of the Villa struggled to gain entry. Even those with valid parking permits were redirected to alternative lots outside the complex.
The ripple effect of the clampdown was felt across the city. Security personnel sealed off the Keffi-Abuja Expressway at Karu Bridge near the Sani Abacha Barracks before dawn, leading to long vehicular queues. Motorists on the route were subjected to extensive security checks.
Civil servants and traders commuting from Nyanya, Karu, Mararaba and Masaka were among the worst hit by the gridlock.
Similar scenes were reported along the Dutse-Bwari and Airport Road corridors where motorists approaching the CBD from the airport axis were diverted at the National Mosque by security agents.
An advisory circulated among civil servants by some concerned workers read: ‘Good morning dear colleagues, please if you are coming from Airport Road to Central Area, follow Area 1. Security blocked from National Mosque.’
Roads leading to the Eagle Square, the Federal Secretariat, and the National Assembly were also cordoned off with heavily armed security personnel.
Nnamdi Kanu, who was arrested and extradited to Nigeria in June 2021 has since then been in a DSS facility in Abuja where he is facing treason charges.
The protest
The protest commenced around 7 am in front of Transcop Hilton Hotel but as the demonstrators moved near Maitama District, the police fired teargas canisters to disperse them.
Their leader, Sowore, was seen running to safety with handkerchief covering his nose.
Kanu’s Lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, who was arrested alongside Fineboy Kanu, a relative of the IPOB leader and six others by officers of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command.
The protesters, who later gathered at Berger junction where the police also dispersed them, chanted solidarity songs and carried placards bearing inscriptions such as ‘Free Nnamdi Kanu Now.’
They later moved to Utako where they continued the protest which did not last long.
Sowore, thereafter, took to his official X to condemned and criticized the police against what he described as an ‘illegal detention.’
He called for the release of Ejimakor and others arrested with him.
The activist threatened that the ‘entire crew’ would be mobilised to the FCT command if all those arrested were not released.
He wrote: ‘The @FCT_PoliceNG is instructed to release Barrister @AloyEjimakor, Fineboy Kanu, and others illegally arrested, tortured, and currently being forced into detention over #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest immediately, or we will mobilize the entire crew now on the street to the FCT command and occupy their office.’
After his arrest, Ejimakor took to his X, accusing police operatives of assaulting the demonstrators.
He said the police detained him and others at the FCT Command Criminal Investigation in Garki.
In Lagos, police operatives were deployed in notable rally arenas like the Lekki Toll Gate, Ojota, Maryland and Gani Fawehinmi Park.
At the Iyana Ipaja axis, a few protesters who attempted to gather around the roundabout were dispersed.
Commissioner of Police Olohundare Jimoh had in the early hours of yesterday told reporters that a ‘Show of Force,’ conducted before the deployment of operatives was to demonstrate the readiness of the state command to maintain peace and order.
Jimoh said: ‘We want residents to know that they are safe and can go about their lawful businesses without fear.’
Situation in Enugu, Anambra, Abia, Akure
There was muted protests in the states with some residents preferring to stay in their homes in solidarity with the protest and others going about their business unmolested.
Across Enugu, activities were grounded. Schools, markets, and private business premises were under lock and key. Banks, shopping malls, and fuel stations also did not open. .
Even though some government offices opened for skeletal operations, attendance was low.
Some of the residents told The Nation that their decision to stay home stemmed from both fear of possible violence and a desire to show solidarity with the protesters in Abuja.
‘We support the call for Nnamdi Kanu’s release, but people here are afraid of being caught in any form of confrontation between protesters and security forces,’ said an Achara Layout resident.
In Awka, Anambra State, banks rendered only skeletal services while markets, including the Eke-Awka, did not open
A civil servant, who also did not give his name said: ‘For me, some of my friends and colleagues, instead of sacrificing our lives for anybody, we will resign from the job. Those gunmen they are claiming they don’t exist anymore are all here.”
In Umuahia and Aba, Abia State, banks, private and public institutions also did not open.
At the Umuahia Aba Park and Aba Central Motor Park, including Milverton which serves as a major bus terminal for buses coming and leaving Aba were devoid of the usual boisterous state as all the transport companies and loading bays were almost empty.
There was noticeable presence of armed security operatives at strategic locations across, Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Although no trace of protest was seen, many businesses on major commercial areas such as Carl Street, Ilesha Garage (known for motor and automobile spare parts), NEPA, Arakale, Ondo Road, Oyemekun Road, Adesida Road, and Old Garage – were shut by their operators
In contrast, grocery shops and food stuffs markets were open.
One of the traders, Uche Churchill, described the development as ‘a clear show of solidarity’ with the demonstrators.
Hearing in police suit against protesters stalled
Hearing in the police suit against the protest suffered a setback as activities at the Federal High Court in Abuja came to a halt.
All the13 courtrooms in the high-rise building that houses 13 courts were under lock and key.
Although very few court workers, lawyers, litigants and private guards of the court were seen in the premises, no judge was sighted.
Justice Mohammed Umar had last Friday fixed yesterday for the respondents in the ex-parte motion by the police to show cause why the interim order made by the court should be vacated.
Justice Umar had restrained Sowore, the 1st respondent, and others from protesting in some sensitive areas in Abuja, including the Aso Rock Villa.
The judge also made an order of abridgement of time ‘within which the respondents will respond to the application on notice to cause the ex-parte order be set aside yesterday at 9 am.’
Presidency seeks sanction for Kanu’s lawyer over protest
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, called on legal authorities to sanction Ejimakor for what he described as ‘unethical conduct.
Onanuga, in a post on his verified X handle, @aonanuga1956, said he was surprised to see Mr. Ejimakor among protesters led by publisher of Sahara Reporters and 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore.
‘I spotted Aloy Ejimakor, one of Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyers, among the small group of protesters mobilised in Abuja by Omoyele Sowore. I wonder what Mr. Ejimakor was thinking when he decided to join this shambolic protest,’ Onanuga wrote.
The presidential aide argued that as a lawyer, Ejimakor should be mindful of the principle of sub judice, particularly as Kanu’s ongoing treason trial is still before the court.
‘The prosecution has concluded its case, and it is now incumbent upon Mr. Ejimakor and the other lawyers to mount a strong defence for Kanu,’ Onanuga said, adding that rather than focusing on legal strategy, the lawyer had ‘resorted to extra-legal tactics’ by joining ‘a career anarchist to influence the process.’
The Presidential spokesman described the protest as ‘shambolic’ and said Mr. Ejimakor’s action ‘questions his adherence to professional ethics,’ urging the relevant legal bodies to ‘consider appropriate sanctions for the unethical conduct of the bearded lawyer.’
‘Protest undermines rule of law’
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, cautioned Sowore against using street protests to influence judicial proceedings. He insisted that matters of justice are resolved in courtrooms, not through public agitation.
Dare, in a post on his verified X handle, @SundayDareSD, described such demonstrations as ‘counterproductive’ and inimical to the rule of law.
‘Protests, threats, attempts at mob actions, and inflammatory rhetoric do not aid the judicial process. Instead, they hinder it, creating unnecessary tension and undermining the rule of law,’ he stated.
The presidential aide said Sowore’s ‘pastime of PR agitation and courting of public sympathy to interfere with judicial proceedings is outdated and counterproductive in a modern democracy,’ stressing that such actions would not be tolerated in any law-abiding society.
All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State and and a group, Nigeria First Project Initiative, flayed the protest, advocating that the court must be allowed to handle Kanu’s case.
While the state chapter of the ruling APC said opposition parties are behind the protest, Project Initiative called for Sowore’s repatriation to the United States(U.S).
The APC said that the involvement of opposition leaders revealed what could only be described ‘as a classic case of the Biblical hand of Jacob but the voice of Esau.’
Sowore, said Project Initiative, ”constitutes a potential threat to Nigeria’s continued security and existence as a nation.”