The campaign to free the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has taken on a new dimension as activist, Omoyele Sowore, leads preparations for a nationwide protest scheduled for October 20 in Abuja.
The protest, tagged #FreeNnamdiKanuNow, is fast-growing into a significant political and civic movement.
Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since June 2021 after being forcefully returned to Nigeria from Kenya in what his lawyers describe as an extraordinary rendition.
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Despite multiple court rulings ordering his release, including a 2022 Court of Appeal decision, the federal government has continued to hold him, citing national security concerns.
Sowore’s call for a peaceful demonstration at the Presidential Villa aims to pressure President Bola Tinubu’s administration to end what protesters call “selective justice.”
The activist insisted that the government cannot claim to uphold the rule of law while ignoring binding judicial orders.
In a tweet, Sowore wrote: “I will set aside my differences with some politicians for one cause. I challenge every politician or person of good conscience from the Southeast who says they want @NnamdiKanu released to stop the rhetoric. Time for action is NOW.
“Let’s march to Aso Rock Villa. Every governor, senator, member of the House, traditional ruler, priest, eze, Igbo person, and every Nigerian who believes in Kanu’s freedom, come out and do more than talk. I will lead this peaceful march to the Aso Rock Villa. No more empty noise. We go together peacefully, legally, and visibly to demand justice and an end to MNK’s persecution. #FreeNnamdiKanuNow.”
Several human rights groups, socio-cultural organisations, including Afenifere, SERAP and FENRAD, have also signalled support for the movement, describing Kanu’s prolonged detention as unlawful and politically motivated.
The protest gained fresh momentum after Tinubu announced a pardon for several high-profile detainees convicted under past governments.
The exclusion of Kanu from that list triggered outrage from Sowore and renewed calls for equal treatment under the law.
He wrote: “Today, President Bola Tinubu extended pardons to a long list of convicted individuals, including a cocaine trafficker serving a life sentence, an alleged Coup plotter, Mamman Vatsa, the late Nnamdi Azikiwe and Herbert Macaulay, and even Farouk Lawan, the former lawmaker convicted for taking bribes on tape. He also pardoned other known fraudsters and corrupt politicians.
“Yet, in all of this, Tinubu refuses even to consider the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who has been unjustly detained for years despite multiple court orders mandating his freedom.
“It is a glaring hypocrisy, criminals and political thieves are forgiven, celebrated, and rehabilitated while a man demanding self-determination and justice remains behind bars and tossed around in courts with the pretence that somehow it is about law..#FreeNnamdiKanuNow.”
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, described Kanu’s continued detention as a “stain on justice,” urging Tinubu to respect court decisions.
Sowore also revealed that he met with former President, Goodluck Jonathan, in Abuja to discuss Kanu’s continued detention.
According to Sowore, Jonathan agreed that there is an urgent and compelling need to address the matter decisively and justly.
He emphasised that Kanu remains in detention because he confronted Nigeria’s long-standing issue of marginalisation.
He added that the former president promised to meet President Tinubu soon to push for Kanu’s release.
The presidency, however, has rejected the mounting pressure.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, accused Sowore and Atiku of politicising a sensitive security issue.
He maintained that Kanu’s detention remains tied to national peace and not political persecution.
“You very well know that Nnamdi Kanu is facing trial for treason, and yet you want to cause a breakdown of law and order by mobilising for a protest. Is this the kind of revolution you envisage for Nigeria, where the rule of law will be violated and your idea of justice would be the law of the jungle?” the presidential aide wrote.
Aloy Ejimakor, a top lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu and a well-known human rights advocate, in an interview with Naija News, said he is joining the protest to reinforce his position that Kanu’s detention is unconstitutional and politically driven.
Question: What motivated you to join Omoyele Sowore in leading the October 20 protest for Nnamdi Kanu’s release?
Aloy Ejimakor: “I was the first person to say, as far back as July 2021, that the extraordinary rendition of Nnamdi Kanu created a permanent and insurmountable prosecutorial barrier. Besides, I have always maintained from day one that his case is more political than legal. That’s why I had raised strong objections to his trial when I was leading the defense team. The planned protest initiated by Omoyole Sowore keys into my abiding stance on the matter and that’s why I promptly stepped forward to join.”
Question: Why do you think the government has continued to ignore court orders granting Kanu’s freedom?
Aloy Ejimakor: “The government’s disregard of court orders (and international tribunal decisions) granting Kanu’s freedom is not grounded in reason or law but on ingrained primordial sentiments that have to do with how Igbos are treated in Nigeria. There can never be any other reasonable explanation.”
Question: What message are you and other organisers hoping this protest will send to President Tinubu’s administration?
Aloy Ejimakor: “The message of the planned protest shall be clear: Enough is enough. Release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and discontinue his prosecution.”
Question: How are you ensuring that the protest remains peaceful despite security concerns?
Aloy Ejimakor: “Sowore is a man of peace. I am a man of peace. All that have volunteered to join are men and women of peace. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a man of peace. These are assurances enough.”
Question: If Nnamdi Kanu is eventually released, what do you think should be the next step for both him and the federal government?
Aloy Ejimakor: “Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is the only person that possesses the authority to decide his future. It’s his inalienable human right and it’s absolute.”