By Ikechukwu Nnochiri, Gabriel Ewepu & Steve Oko
ABUJA— A day after the #FreeNnamdiKanu protest, an Abuja Chief Magistrate’s Court sitting at Kuje, yesterday, remanded Mr. Aloy Ejimakor, a member of the legal team representing the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, in Kuje prison.
Kanu, who is answering to a seven-count terrorism charge, has been in custody of the Department of State Services, DSS, since 2021.
Ejimakor was remanded alongside Kanu’s younger brother, Emmanuel (otherwise known as Fineboy), and 10 others arrested while protesting for the unconditional release of the embattled IPOB leader.
Police, in the First Information Report, FIR, it filed before the court, alleged that the defendants held the #FreeNnamdiKanu protest in disobedience to a court order, chanted war songs while disrupting the free flow of traffic.
According to the police, they engaged in criminal conspiracy, incited disturbance and disturbed public peace, offences punishable under sections 152, 114 and 113 of the Penal Code.
The charge against the defendants read: “That on 20th day of October, 2025, you (1). Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, (2). Prince Emmnauel Kanu, (3). Joshua Emmanuel, (4). Bishop Wilson Anyalewechi, (5). Barrister Okere Kingdom Nnamdi, (6). Clinton Chimeneze, (7). Gabriel Joshua, (8). Isiaka Husseini, (9). Onyekachi Ferdinand. (10). Amadi Prince, (11). Edison Ojisom, and (12). Godwill Obiama, all male adults of FCT Abuja were arrested by a team of security agents in different locations within FCT while involving yourselves in inciting disturbance, and breach of public Peace in disobedience to a court Order, denying other citizens the freedom of movement, disrupting free flow of traffic while chanting war songs and requesting for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, who is undergoing lawful trial at the Federal High Court in a manner that threatens national security.
“You thereby committed the above mentioned offences.”
Absence of legal representation
Meanwhile, Vanguard learned that though the defendants, taken to the court from a police detention facility, were docked, they could not take their plea owing to absence of legal representation for them.
It was gathered that while one of the defendants, Okere Nnamdi, who is also a legal practitioner, elected to defend himself, Kanu’s counsel, Ejimakor, pleaded for a stand-down to enable their legal team arrive.
Ejimakor’s plea was rejected by the court which adjourned the case till Friday.
A member of Kanu’s legal team, who spoke to Vanguard on grounds of anonymity, said the case was already adjourned before they got to the court.
He further confirmed that a motion was swiftly filed for the defendants to be released on bail.
Bail application stalled
However, the lawyer decried that spirited attempts to serve the bail application on the police failed as his team was informed that the person that had the authority to accept the process, was not available.
“This is the unfortunate situation at the moment,” the lawyer lamented.
The Federal High Court in Abuja had in a ruling last Friday by Justice Mohammed Umar, banned the protesters from Aso Rock Villa, the National Assembly and the Unity Fountain in Abuja, and issued an ex parte order that restrained organisers of the protest, led by a former presidential candidate and activist, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, from proceeding with their plan.
Police spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, had in the aftermath of the protest that took place in Abuja and other parts of the country on Monday, confirmed the arrest of Kanu’s lawyer, brother and the 10 others and said they would be prosecuted in less than 24 hours after diligent investigation.
Ejimakor speaks from Kuje prison
Meanwhile, Ejimakor, has confirmed that he is in detention at the Kuje Prison.
He disclosed his status in a post on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday, assuring supporters of his safety, while expressing concern about how his case was handled by the Police.
The lawyer wrote: “I am safe and sound but still in custody at Kuje prison. The magistrate refused to listen to our submissions. He insisted on remanding us till Friday and got his way.”
Ejimakor also alleged that the authorities deliberately took his case to a particular court in Kuje, instead of any of the other available magistrate’s courts in the city.
“For context: Keep in mind that they bypassed several magistrate’s courts in town and headed to this one in Kuje,” he stated.
It would be recalled that Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had called on legal regulatory bodies in Nigeria to sanction Ejimakor for participating in the protest in Abuja, saying his participation undermined legal ethics, given that Kanu’s case was still before a competent court.
Wabara demands immediate release of Kanu’s brother, others
Speaking on the issue yesterday, former Senate President, Senator Adolphus Wabara, called for the immediate release of all protesters arrested during Monday’s protest in Abuja.
The elder statesman strongly condemned the action of some security operatives who fired tear gas canisters at peaceful protesters.
Wabara also frowned on alleged manhandling of a journalist covering the protest whose camera was reportedly broken by some overzealous security operatives.
Describing the intimidation and arrest of peaceful protesters as “a serious dent on Nigeria’s global image,” Senator Wabara urged President Bola Tinubu to call the security agencies to order.
According to him, the arrest of Kanu’s younger brother and lawyer, among others, will only aggravate the already tense situation in the South-East.
Senator Wabara, who argued that “it is the fundamental right of citizens to hold peaceful protest”, said the police were required to provide protection for protesters, and not clamp down on them.
Citing the ongoing ‘No King Protest’ involving about 7 million people in the United States of America, “where there are no incidents of molestation or brutality,” Senator Wabara challenged the Nigeria security operatives to learn from their US counterparts.
Wabara, who is the chairman of the Board of Trustees, BoT, of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, accused the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC-led, Federal Government which, he said, “is a product of protests”, of using intimidation and brute force against dissenting voices.
He queried: ‘’Why is the APC that came to power through protests suddenly scared of protests? Muzzling dissenting voices and that of opposition is a prelude to dictatorship. This is certainly not the democracy we yearned for!
“The scars of#EndSARS will always remain a sad memorial for the APC which exploited propaganda and protests to oust the PDP in 2015.’’
Sliding into dictatorship
Regretting that “Nigeria under the watch of the APC, is fast sliding into dictatorship,” Wabara advised President Tinubu to, as a father of the nation, consider the growing appeals for the release of Nnamdi Kanu “to reduce tension and restore peace in the South-East.”
According to him, if the President can pardon some convicted criminals and fraudsters, there is nothing wrong in extending similar gesture to Nnamdi Kanu.
Senator Wabara further argued that the continued release of repentant terrorists and negotiations with armed bandits, had made Kanu’s unconditional release more compelling.
He advised President Tinubu to rather engage the protesters and look for a way to politically resolve the Kanu equation, instead of holding him behind bars in perpetuity.
Wabara, who had earlier declared support for the protest, commended the protesters for their peaceful comportment, despite provocations, and urged Nigerians to be united against bare-faced injustice, disregard for the rule of law, and rascality of the ruling class, insisting that every section of the country deserves fair treatment.
We’re mimicking democracy, Farotimi faults police, judiciary
In a similar vein, civil rights activist, Dele Farotimi, in his reaction, faulted the Nigerian Police and the judiciary over their roles in restricting citizens from holding peaceful protests, describing the actions as evidence that Nigeria is merely pretending to be a democracy.
Speaking on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, yesterday, Farotimi said in a true democracy, citizens do not require a police permit to protest, adding that the police were only to be informed, so they could provide security.
He said: “In a democracy, there should never be a need for a police permit before you may have a protest. The police were informed so that they would provide security.
“That a court would presume to curtail the right of citizens to protest peacefully in a democracy is even suggestive of the fact that we’re not in a democracy. We’re only mimicking and pretending to be in one.”
Farotimi argued that it is “completely unheard of” for citizens in a democracy to need the permission of their “paid employees,” the police, before they could congregate peacefully.
He maintained that the judiciary had become an extension of the executive and no longer served the cause of justice.
“I’m sorry to say our judiciary is unfit for purpose. It does exactly as it is told by the executive and does not serve the cause of justice. An order is only as useful as its lawfulness,” he said.
He further argued that the government’s response to the 2020 #EndSARS movement proved that nothing has changed, saying the authorities only rebranded the police unit, instead of reforming its operations.
“End SARS, they changed the name to SWAT; today it is RRS. It is the character and nature that have not changed. The Nigerian state does not change anything for anybody. It is not interested in pleasing those who presume themselves to be citizens. It does not care,” Farotimi stated.
ActionAid, Amnesty Int’l kick
Also, ActionAid Nigeria, AAN, and Amnesty International, AI, yesterday, strongly condemned the assaults on peaceful protesters and civic actors in Abuja and Lagos, via a joint statement by the Country Director, AAN, Dr Andrew Mamedu, and Country Director, AI, Isa Sanusi.
Both said the brutal force was uncalled for and unacceptable, as it infringed on the fundamental, constitutional rights of Nigerian citizens to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and association.
The statement read: “ActionAid Nigeria, AAN, and Amnesty International have received with profound shock and utter condemnation reports of brutal and unlawful attacks on peaceful demonstrators and members of the civil society community in Abuja and Lagos.
“The protests, which included Ms. Yemi Adamolekun of the Enough Is Enough (EiE) movement in Lagos laying flowers in commemoration of deceased members of the #ENDSARs protesters, drew a heavy security response across both cities and were met with excessive force.”
ActionAid Nigeria Country Director said: “This spate of violence represents a grievous and unacceptable assault on the fundamental constitutional rights of Nigerian citizens to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and association.
“Such actions by security agents, specifically the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, are not merely isolated incidents of misconduct, they constitute a systematic and unbecoming attempt to shrink the civic space and stifle legitimate public dissent.
“We assert that peaceful demonstration is the bedrock of any functioning democracy, and its protection is a non-negotiable duty of the state.
“Any force deployed against peaceful protesters, resulting in injury or assault, is a direct breach of domestic and international human rights laws, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Nigeria’s own constitution.
“The deliberate use of excessive force transforms the state’s role from protector of its citizens to perpetrator of violence.’’
Amnesty International’s Country Director also noted: “The recurring pattern of brutality exhibited by security agencies in dealing with peaceful assembly is deeply entrenched and must be decisively dismantled.
“ActionAid Nigeria and Amnesty International demand an immediate, thorough, impartial, and independent investigation into all reported attacks on protesters in Abuja and the assault on Yemi Adamolekun, with clear accountability for those who ordered and executed these violations.
“These repeated assaults reflect a disturbing shrinkage of Nigeria’s civic space where citizens exercising their constitutional rights to assemble and speak are increasingly met with repression.
“Government at all levels must immediately cease all attempts to suppress peaceful protests and must ensure that security agencies are strictly directed to respect and protect the rights of citizens to assemble and express themselves freely, with strict adherence to human rights standards and rules of engagement.
The statement assured that “ActionAid Nigeria and Amnesty International stand in solidarity with the victims of these attacks and remain committed to monitoring the situation closely.
The CSOs also tasked the Tinubu-led administration to respect human rights, saying “the Nigerian government must take immediate, decisive steps to demonstrate its commitment to human rights and the sanctity of the civic space. Failure to act swiftly will be viewed as complicity in the continued abuse of power.’’
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