Nigerian court remands lawyer, others following Abuja protest

A magistrate court in Kuje, Abuja, has remanded lawyer Aloy Ejimakor, who represents detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu, along with Kanu’s brother Emmanuel Kanu and 10 others, following their arrest during a protest in the capital.

The group was detained after participating in Monday’s #FreeNnamdiKanuNow demonstration near the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Maitama, which called for the unconditional release of the separatist leader.

Ejimakor, who announced the development on X (formerly Twitter), said the magistrate declined to hear defence submissions and ordered all accused persons to be held at the Kuje Correctional Centre until Friday.

According to him, authorities bypassed several magistrate courts in central Abuja and took them specifically to the one in Kuje.

The police arraigned the group on allegations of criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, disobedience of court orders, and inciting public disturbance.

Those remanded include:

Aloy Ejimakor (lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu)

Emmanuel Kanu (Nnamdi Kanu’s brother)

Joshua Emmanuel

Bishop Anyalewechi

Okere Kingdom (lawyer)

Clinton Chimenze

Gabriel Joshua

Isiaka Husseini

Onyekachi Ferdinand

Amadi Prince

Edison Ojisom

Godwill Obiama

The police say the protesters disrupted traffic, chanted “war songs,” and violated a court order restricting demonstrations in sensitive security zones.

A Federal High Court ruling issued last Friday had permitted the protest but barred it from areas including Aso Rock, the National Assembly, Eagle Square, the Court of Appeal and Shehu Shagari Way.

Police argue the group breached that order by demonstrating on Shehu Shagari Way.
However, protesters insisted they were never served with any court order before the march began.

Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore, who led the protest, confirmed in a Facebook post that a bail application for Ejimakor and Emmanuel Kanu had been filed at the Federal High Court. He alleged that police refused to accept service of the documents.

Kanu, leader of IPOB — a movement calling for an independent Biafra state in Nigeria’s southeast — has been in detention since 2021 after being arrested in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria.

He is currently facing terrorism-related charges, with the government accusing him of inciting violence in the region.

Public demands for his release have intensified in recent weeks, leading activist groups to mobilise nationwide protests, though Abuja has seen the largest turnout.

Police used teargas to disperse protesters at multiple locations, including Transcorp Hilton, Utako, Jabi, Apo and Gudu.
The unrest disrupted commercial activity in some districts.

Sowore later led a small group to the FCT Police Command to demand the release of the detained demonstrators.