Key Points
-
#FreeNnamdiKanuNow surge intensifies as Sowore calls supporters to act.
-
March planned despite court injunction and warnings from security agencies.
-
Nationwide mobilisation under #FreeNnamdiKanuNow signals deepening political fault lines.
On Monday in Abuja, human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore called on Nigerians to join the protest called #FreeNnamdiKanuNow, which is meant to pressure the government to free Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who is currently in jail.
According to a report by the Punch news, Sowore made the announcement on social media early in the morning. The Transcorp Hilton in Abuja was named as the meeting place at 7 a.m. He told his followers to “come ready, come peaceful, come determined,” and then he sent out another message saying, “We want to put one million people on the streets of Abuja tomorrow for #FreeNnamdiKanuNow—let’s make it happen.”
Even though there was an injunction, the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow march was suggested
The planned protest will go against a court order from Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja that says protests can’t happen in places like the Presidential Villa, the National Assembly, the Force Headquarters, and other sensitive areas. Activists say the injunction is not valid and is an example of selective enforcement. Sowore asked why other protests against the government didn’t get the same orders. He said that his legal team has more than 115 lawyers who are there to help with the march and deal with any arrests that may happen.
The organisers also said that parallel mobilisations would happen in southeastern states and in Nigerian missions abroad. They stressed that the campaign is no longer just local but also national and diaspora-driven. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and opposition leader Peter Obi have both publicly supported the call for Kanu’s release, which shows how political the protest is.
#FreeNnamdiKanuNow mobilisation tests the government’s strength
The movement around #FreeNnamdiKanuNow comes at a bad time. Kanu has been in jail since being sent back to the US from Kenya in 2021. He is charged with terrorism and treason, but his lawyers say the case is politically motivated. The protest’s timing is significant because it falls on the fifth anniversary of the 2020 #EndSARS protests.
Security agencies have reacted strongly. Before the protest, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps said that there would be no tolerance for vandalism or unauthorised access to correctional centres, calling all of them “Red Zones.” Sowore, on the other hand, said that police were targeting peaceful protesters and that agents used force without reason.
As people gather and lawyers wait, the government has a test: can it keep the peace while protecting people’s right to assemble and speak their minds? The #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest and how the government responds to it could change how people think about how the current government deals with dissent, separatist demands, and public space.
