A MAGISTRATE Court in Kuje, Abuja, has granted bail to publisher and human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, following his arraignment for violating a court order restricting protest around some government’s institutions in Abuja.
Sowore was arrested on Thursday, October 23, for leading the protest for the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Also granted bail were 12 other persons, including Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu’s brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu.
They were all arrested in connection with the recent #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in the Federal Capital Territory on Monday, October 20.
The court granted each of the defendants bail in the sum of ₦500,000, with two sureties in like sum. They were charged with inciting public disturbance and breach of peace in Abuja.
While Ejimakor, Prince Kanu, and the other protesters were arrested during the demonstration and remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre, Sowore was apprehended three days later, on October 23, at the premises of the Federal High Court in Abuja, where he had gone to attend Kanu’s ongoing terrorism trial.
The #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest, organised by Sowore and other activists, called for the immediate release of Kanu, who has been in detention since 2021 despite several court rulings ordering his freedom. The protesters gathered around the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) headquarters before security operatives dispersed them.
The ICIR reported that police officers, alongside other security agencies, fired teargas and gunshots into the air to break up the protest, causing panic in parts of the Central Business District. Several demonstrators, including Ejimakor and Prince Kanu, were arrested and taken into custody.
Three days later, police officers approached Sowore at the Federal High Court and informed him that he was under arrest. Witnesses said the officers claimed they were acting on the directive of the FCT Commissioner of Police, Miller Dantawaye.
Members of Sowore’s legal team, led by human rights lawyer Tope Temokun, demanded an explanation, but the police whisked him away in a waiting vehicle.
Sowore and Ejimakor’s arrests drew condemnation from civil rights advocates. Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong described the arrests as an embarrassment to the judicial system, insisting that Sowore’s presence in court was lawful and that the police action undermined the rule of law.
Kanu has been in detention since his re-arrest in Kenya in 2021 and his controversial return to Nigeria. He was first arrested in 2015 on charges of treasonable felony and granted bail in 2017 but fled after a military raid on his residence in Abia State.
Although the Court of Appeal discharged him of terrorism charges in 2022, the Federal Government appealed the decision, and he remains in the custody of the State Security Service. His ongoing trial has continued to draw attention and protests from supporters who accuse the government of ignoring multiple court rulings in his favour.
A reporter with the ICIR
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