A coalition of security operatives on Monday forcefully dispersed protesters demanding the release of detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, in Abuja.
The demonstration, led by activist and Sahara Reporters publisher Omoyele Sowore alongside Kanu’s lawyer, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, began near the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) headquarters in Maitama.
Protesters chanted “Free Nnamdi Kanu Now” before security agents moved in.
Moments after Sowore and Ejimakor were seen addressing the crowd, gunshots were heard, forcing protesters to flee.
Ejimakor later tweeted that police fired teargas, writing, “My eyes and throat hurt. They’re scattering everywhere.” Minutes later, he added, “We’ve just been arrested… We are at FCT Command CID, No. 1 Zaria Street, Garki 2.”
The protest had been planned to march toward the State House, but heavy security cordons and barricades across the capital halted movement.
Chaos and Traffic Gridlock Across Abuja
Earlier that morning, long queues and frustration built across Abuja as police mounted checkpoints at major entry points — from Bwari, Kubwa, Ushafa, and Dutse to Nyanya-Mararaba. The barricades left commuters stranded for hours.
In Sokale, a resident, Usman Jibrin, lamented, “If people want to go to the Villa, why should it affect us on the outskirts? This is punishment and God is watching.”
Many residents accused authorities of overreacting to peaceful demonstrators, while security operatives insisted the restrictions were necessary to prevent a possible breach of peace.
Police sources had earlier warned that they would not tolerate “any form of unlawful assembly” within the Federal Capital Territory.
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