Human rights activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, has begun mobilisation for the planned peaceful protest against the detention of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The IPOB leader, who is facing a terrorism trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja, has been in detention since he was repatriated to Nigeria from Kenya in June 2021 under controversial circumstances.
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Protest for Kanu’s release
Mr Sowore, earlier this month, announced plans to lead a nationwide protest on 20 October to free Mr Kanu from detention.
“I will set aside my differences with politicians for one cause. I challenge every politician or person of good conscience from the South-east who says they want Nnamdi Kanu released to stop the rhetoric.
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“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,” he posted on his Facebook page on 7 October.
The human rights activist called on politicians from the South-east, including Peter Obi, to join the protest.
“We go together peacefully, legally, and visibly to demand justice and an end to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s persecution,” he said.
With a hangtag, #FreeNnamdiKanuNow, Mr Sowore has visited various areas in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, asking residents to join the protest.
“We’re here today to give you the good news that Nnamdi Kanu might be on his way to freedom,” he told a crowd in Abuja during one of his mobilisation visits.
The activist uploaded a video clip of the visit on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
“Those of you who are Christians, you know about the wall of Jericho. When it was about to fall, there was a command that we must march around it. And that’s what we’re doing on 20 October.
“That wall of Jericho that has been keeping our brother (Kanu) away from freedom, we want to take it down by marching to Aso Rock, Villa on Monday next week,” Mr Sowore said.
“We’re here to plead with you to come with us on Monday, even if it is for a few hours.”
Mr Sowore was flanked by Mr Kanu’s Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor and the IPOB leader’s younger brother, Kingsley.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that the campaign for Mr Kanu’s release has gained traction in recent days, with many Nigerians expressing support for the protest.
Presidency tackles Sowore
Bayo Onanuga, the spokesperson to President Bola Tinubu, has criticised Mr Sowore for planning the protest march.
In the now-deleted X post on Thursday, Mr Onanuga described Mr Sowore as “an anarchist masquerading as a rights activist,” and accused him of attempting to incite disorder under the guise of a protest.
“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,” he told Mr Sowore.
The presidential spokesperson also tackled former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for backing the planned protest. He accused Atiku of being an opportunist.
“I am surprised that ex-VP Atiku Abubakar, who is always opportunistic, has supported the planned mob action.
“As a statesman, he should know better that matters of justice are not resolved on the streets but in the law court,” he said.
“While the wheel of justice can sometimes be grindingly slow, partly caused by Kanu’s lawyers, Nnamdi Kanu will eventually get the justice he deserves for his alleged transgressions,” Mr Onanuga added.
‘It’s not about IPOB’
Meanwhile, five unidentified men expressed support for the planned peaceful protest in a video clip uploaded on Facebook on Tuesday.
The men, however, said the protest was not about IPOB but specifically for all Nigerians seeking the release of Mr Kanu.
“It is not IPOB protest,” one of them said in a combination of Igbo and English languages.
“Not at all,” others chorused.
He continued: “Nobody will fly (IPOB) flag that day or brandish IPOB clothes. We don’t want such.”
Background
Mr Kanu leads IPOB, an outlawed group leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south Nigeria.
The IPOB leader was first arrested in 2015 under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Court of Appeal, Abuja, on 13 October 2022, held that the IPOB leader was extraordinarily renditioned to Nigeria and that the action was a flagrant violation of the country’s extradition treaty and also a breach of his fundamental human rights.
The court, therefore, struck out the terrorism charges filed against Mr Kanu by the Nigerian government and ordered his release from the facility of the State Security Service.
But the government refused to release the IPOB leader, insisting that he (Kanu) could be unavailable in subsequent court proceedings if released and that his release would cause insecurity in the South-east, where he comes from.
The government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, later appealed the court ruling and subsequently obtained an order staying the execution of the court judgement at the Supreme Court.
Delivering judgement on the appeal on 15 December 2023, the Supreme Court reversed the acquittal granted to Mr Kanu by the lower court and consequently ordered continuation of his trial at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
On 19 June 2025, the Nigerian government closed its case against the IPOB leader after the 5th prosecution witness was led in evidence and cross-examined by Mr Kanu’s lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu, before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
However, rather than opening his defence, Mr Kanu, through his lawyers, said he would instead file a no-case submission to seek the dismissal of the charges on the grounds that the evidence presented by the prosecution failed to establish any case against him to warrant him entering any defence.
The judge asked the parties to file and exchange their written submissions on the no-case application and fixed 18 July for the hearing.
During the July hearing, prosecution lawyer Adegboyega Awomolo, urged the court to dismiss Mr Kanu’s application and order him to enter his defence.
Mr Awomolo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), argued that the prosecution had led enough evidence to establish a prima facie case against the IPOB leader.
READ ALSO: Plan by SSS to arraign Sowore for alleged defamation of Tinubu stalls
But Mr Kanu’s lawyer, Kanu Agabi, argued that the prosecution failed to prove any of the terrorism charges brought against his client.
Mr Agabi, also a SAN, contended that no evidence was tendered to show that anyone acted on Mr Kanu’s alleged broadcasts via a pirate radio, Radio Biafra.
But the court later accepted Mr Kanu’s application for the no-case submission.
On 26 September, the court dismissed the no-case submission filed by Mr Kanu and ordered him to enter his defence.
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