Akure, the Ondo State capital, South-west Nigeria, experienced low commercial and economic activities in major locations on Monday as Igbo traders signalled solidarity with the protest calling for the release of detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Shops, particularly those belonging to Igbo people, were largely shut at major commercial centres in the city, including Oyemekun Road, Oba Adesida Road, Arakale Road, NEPA, Old Garage, and Carl Street.
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The protest, intended to be held in Abuja and other parts of the country, seeks the release of Mr Kanu, who has been in custody since he was arrested in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria to face terrorism charges over his separatist activities.
Mr Kanu, who was first arrested in 2015 and charged with treasonable felony, champions the indepence of the Igbo-dominated South-east along with some parts of the neighbouring states as a sovereign Biafra state.
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He was granted bail in 2017 and subsequently fled Nigeria after soldiers invaded his home in Afara-Ukwu, Abia State, in September 2017.
He was outside Nigeria until he was rearrested in Kenya in June 2017 and brought back to Nigeria to continue facing his trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In the charges pending against Mr Kanu at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the Nigerian government blamed many violent attacks and killings in the South-east region on Mr Kanu’s inciteful rhetorics aimed at actualising his secessionist goal.
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The prosecution has since closed its case with five witnesses, prompting the trial court to fix Thursday (23 October) for Mr Kanu to open his defence.
Human rights activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, had called on leaders and people of the South-east as well as other well-meaning Nigerians to join the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest to pressure the federal government to free the IPOB leader from what he described as an illegal detention.
Although the protest was intended to be nationwide, it only took a significant hold in Abuja, where Mr Sowore led the demonstration and addressed protesters on Monday.
READ ALSO: #FreeNnamdiKanuNow Protest: Abuja Plaza shut down after police tear-gas protesters, business owners
“We closed our shops to show solidarity with our own who has suffered so much,” he said. “We hope this effort will draw the federal government’s attention to the plight of Nnamdi Kanu and release urgently.”
But, while his shop shut, he expressed readiness to covertly sell to any interested buyer.
Many automobile shops and supermarkets owned by the Igbo people were shut, a development that affected business activities of other traders in the area such as food sellers and other service providers.
A sizeable number of security operatives were seen on patrol within the state capital on Monday.
Some of the operatives were positioned in strategic places to ensure there was no breakdown of law and order.
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