Human rights activist and former African Motion Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, on Monday described the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, chief of the proscribed Indigenous Folks of Biafra (IPOB), as an emblem of Nigeria’s deepening social injustice, warning that public anger may quickly erupt into an enormous nationwide motion.
Mr Sowore addressed a crowd across the well-liked Utako Market, Abuja, the place the protesters regrouped after the preliminary disruption of their demonstration close to Transcorps Hilton Resort within the Maitama District on Monday.
The #FreeNnamdiKanu protest coincides with the fifth anniversary of the EndSARS demonstrations, which climaxed with the capturing and killing of protesters by Nigerian safety forces at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos on 20 October 2020.
Mr Sowore, who was seen in a video clip working away from the sooner disrupted protest scene on Monday, mentioned the agitation for Mr Kanu’s launch transcends ethnic and non secular divisions.
“Free Nnamdi Kanu now! This isn’t a tribal concern, it’s not a non secular concern, it’s not a sentimental concern — it’s a social justice concern for us,” he instructed the cheering crowd.
Mr Sowore led protesters in a minute of silence for victims of the 20 October 2020, Lekki Tollgate capturing, describing the day as “one of many darkest in Nigeria’s historical past.”
“At present marks 5 years because the EndSARS protest of 2020. We take a minute to recollect the heroes and heroines who had been killed on the Lekki Tollgate,” he mentioned.
The activist mentioned Nigerians from totally different ethnic backgrounds had been united by shared struggling beneath a authorities that, based on him, has failed to deal with starvation, unemployment, and political oppression.
“We’re not right here as Igbos, Yorubas, or Hausas. Should you look intently, there are a whole lot of Igbos, Hausas, and Yorubas — all united to make sure our brother is introduced out of detention,” he mentioned.
Mr Sowore urged the Federal Authorities to finish what he known as the “sham trial” of Mr Kanu on the Federal Excessive Court docket, warning that continued repression may gas a extra explosive motion.
“They know that many Nigerians are seethed with anger — not nearly Nnamdi Kanu alone. There’s starvation, there’s hunger, there’s political oppression. Very quickly, this protest will be greater than that of Nepal,” he mentioned.
The protest, which drew supporters from varied civil society teams, continued peacefully amid experiences of police tear gassing protesters.
Background
Mr Kanu was first arrested in October 2015 and arraigned on prices together with treasonable felony, terrorism, and broadcasting offences within the Federal Excessive Court docket.
The fees stemmed from Mr Kanu’s separatist campaigns, blamed for killings and violence within the South-east, geared toward actualising the independence of the area as a sovereign Biafra nation.
The IPOB chief, a Nigerian-British citizen, was granted bail in April 2017, however in September of that 12 months he fled Nigeria following a army raid on his house.
In June 2021, Mr Kanu was reportedly apprehended in Kenya and introduced again to Nigeria, based on his authorized group, in what they contend was a rare rendition, bypassing formal extradition protocols. Upon his return, he was re-arraigned earlier than the Federal Excessive Court docket on amended prices.
On 13 October 2022, the Court docket of Enchantment in Abuja declared that Mr Kanu’s rendition from Kenya was unlawful and, on that foundation, discharged and acquitted him of some prices.
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The court docket held that the federal government’s failure to observe due course of and its silence on the place and the way the rendition occurred fatally undermined the trial’s legitimacy.
Nevertheless, regardless of the choice, Mr Kanu was not launched, till the Supreme Court docket overturned the ruling and ordered his trial to proceed on the Federal Excessive Court docket.
The prosecution has since known as 5 witnesses to show its case towards Mr Kanu.
Mr Kanu is predicted to open his defence on Tuesday.
