Eight persons, including Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer Aloy Ejimakor and a relative, Fineboy Kanu, have been arrested in a renewed protest demanding the release of detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu on Monday.
The protest, tagged #FreeNnamdiKanuNow, was led by activist and convener of the #RevolutionNow movement, Omoyele Sowore, and drew protesters to parts of Maitama and the Central Business District before security operatives moved in.
FCT Police Command spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin confirmed the arrests, adding that the suspects would be charged to court. He also dismissed reports that police fired live ammunition at protesters.
“I can state categorically, authoritatively, that no live ammunition was fired. It’s very easy for people unfamiliar with the sounds to mistake the firing of tear gas for live ammunition,” Hundeyin clarified.
He explained that officers only fired teargas canisters in line with Standard Operating Procedures to disperse protesters who attempted to breach a court-restricted area.
The protest triggered a major lockdown around key government zones, including the Presidential Villa, National Assembly, and Supreme Court. Combined teams of the military, police, and DSS operatives mounted barricades as early as dawn, paralyzing traffic and leaving thousands of commuters stranded.
Civil servants, traders, and motorists from Nyanya, Karu, Mararaba, and Masaka were among those caught in the gridlock. Similar scenes were recorded along Airport Road, Dutse-Bwari, and Keffi-Abuja Expressway, where long queues formed as security personnel conducted extensive stop-and-search operations.
An internal advisory circulated among workers cautioned:
“Good morning dear colleagues, please if you are coming from Airport Road to Central Area, follow Area 1. Security blocked from National Mosque.”
Access routes to Eagle Square, the Federal Secretariat, and National Assembly complex were also sealed off, with even staff possessing valid Villa passes redirected to distant parking areas.
The demonstration began around 7 a.m. at the Transcorp Hilton, but police fired teargas as protesters advanced toward Maitama District. Sowore was seen running for safety with a handkerchief over his face.
Among those arrested were Ejimakor, Fineboy Kanu, and six others, who were detained at the FCT Criminal Investigation Department in Garki. Protesters regrouped briefly at Berger Junction and Utako, chanting solidarity songs and holding placards that read “Free Nnamdi Kanu Now.”
Following the arrests, Sowore took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn what he called “illegal detention” and threatened to mobilize more protesters if those in custody were not released.
“The @FCT_PoliceNG is instructed to release Barrister @AloyEjimakor, Fineboy Kanu, and others illegally arrested, tortured, and currently being forced into detention over #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest immediately, or we will mobilize the entire crew now on the street to the FCT command and occupy their office,” Sowore wrote.
Ejimakor, in a post on X after his arrest, alleged that police operatives assaulted demonstrators before taking them into custody.
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