The Federal Capital Territory was on edge Monday morning as Nigerian security forces fired teargas and used heavy patrols to break up demonstrations calling for the release of detained separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu, reports Reuters.
Armed police and soldiers sealed off major roads in central Abuja, deploying armoured trucks and water cannon to block protesters attempting to converge on the city centre.
Witnesses said volleys of teargas were fired as demonstrators regrouped near the Aso Rock Villa, the seat of Nigeria’s presidency.
In the ensuing chaos, Omoyele Sowore, human-rights activist and organiser of the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest, narrowly escaped gunfire at the protest grounds, according to Daily Post.
Viral videos showed Sowore and other protesters running for safety as security operatives dispersed the crowd.
Security forces reportedly took over the protest area from 7 a.m., hours after police authorities had warned organisers not to stage any march near the presidential villa.
The protesters had planned to walk peacefully to Aso Rock to demand Kanu’s unconditional release and the dismissal of terrorism charges against him.
Kanu, who holds British citizenship, leads the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement, which seeks the secession of southeastern Nigeria, home to the Igbo ethnic group.
He has been detained since 2021, facing seven counts of terrorism—charges he denies.
Supporters insist Kanu’s continued detention is politically motivated, while the government maintains it is a national-security matter.
Born in 1967, the year the Biafran civil war began, Kanu’s activism has rekindled memories of that bloody three-year conflict that claimed over one million lives following the southeast’s failed bid to secede as the Republic of Biafra.
Sources: Reuters and Daily Post Nigeria
