A Magistrate Court sitting in Kuje, Abuja, has ordered the remand of Prince Emmanuel Kanu, the younger brother of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, and his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, alongside 11 others in prison custody over their involvement in the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest.
The defendants were arrested on Monday during a demonstration calling for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, who has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) for nearly five years.
They were arraigned on Tuesday before the Kuje Magistrate Court on charges bordering on breach of public peace.
The protest, which took place in parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), reportedly disrupted movement and commercial activities, leaving many workers and motorists stranded as security operatives moved to disperse the demonstrators.
According to the police, the protesters violated an existing court order that restricted public gatherings in certain high-security areas of the capital city.
The Federal High Court in Abuja had, last Friday, granted an ex-parte motion filed by police counsel, Wisdom Madaki, on behalf of the Federal Government, restraining individuals and groups from staging protests around sensitive locations including the Aso Rock Villa, National Assembly, Force Headquarters, Court of Appeal, Eagle Square, and Shehu Shagari Way.
Justice Mohammed Umar, who granted the order, ruled that the restriction was to subsist pending the hearing of the motion on notice filed by the police.
During Monday’s protest, police operatives arrested several demonstrators, including journalists covering the event. An AFP correspondent was among those briefly detained before being released later in the day.
Speaking after the arrests, a police source said, “The protesters were informed about the court order, yet they defied it. The command had no choice but to enforce the order to prevent a breakdown of law and order.”
The remand of Ejimakor and Prince Kanu has drawn sharp criticism from pro-Biafra activists and human rights advocates, who described the arrests as “an assault on free expression and the right to peaceful assembly.”
Ejimakor, who has served as Nnamdi Kanu’s lead counsel in multiple legal battles, was reportedly addressing the crowd when the police moved in to disperse them.
As of press time, the court has not fixed a date for their bail hearing.
Nnamdi Kanu, the IPOB leader, has remained in custody since June 2021 after his controversial re-arrest and extradition from Kenya. His prolonged detention has continued to spark protests and legal battles across Nigeria and the diaspora.
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