A Magistrate Court sitting in Kuje, Abuja, has remanded Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, and his brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, following their arraignment alongside 10 others over Monday’s #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in Abuja.
The protest, which called for the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), led to a heavy security presence and multiple arrests in the Federal Capital Territory.
The Nigeria Police Force charged Ejimakor, Emmanuel Kanu, and others with inciting disturbance and breach of public peace in defiance of a court order.
The court documents detailing the charges were shared on X by the former National Chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Nigeria (HRCN), Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, on Tuesday.
According to the charge sheet, the accused persons allegedly “denied other citizens the freedom of movement, disrupted the free flow of traffic while chanting war songs and requesting for the release of Nnamdi Kanu.”
Confirming the arrests on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, the Police Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Benjamin Hundeyin, stated that Ejimakor and Prince Emmanuel Kanu were apprehended after insisting on accessing restricted areas during the protest.
“We arrested Nnamdi Kanu’s brother, his lawyer because they insisted on making way to the restricted areas. And not just two of them, six others were also arrested around TRANSCORP, and for this same reason. So we arrested a total of eight of them,” Hundeyin explained.
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He added that investigations were swiftly concluded before their arraignment. “They are currently at the state CID, and once we conclude our investigation, just like we said in our statement, that anybody who violated that court order would be arrested, diligently investigated and prosecuted. So once we conclude that, which we should tonight, then they’ll be prosecuted immediately; in less than 24 hours, they will be facing the court,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kanunta Kanu, another sibling of the IPOB leader, confirmed the court’s ruling in a post on X, alleging a coordinated effort by the executive, legislative, and judicial arms of government to frustrate Nnamdi Kanu’s upcoming trial.
“The magistrate seating in Kuje remanded Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, the lead counsel in Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s case and Prince Emmanuel Kanu, his youngest brother. This is a conspiracy from the executive, legislature and judiciary to frustrate Kanu’s trial on Thursday,” he wrote.
It would be recalled that the police had earlier warned against violating the court’s order restricting protests related to Nnamdi Kanu’s ongoing case. The remand of Ejimakor, Emmanuel Kanu, and others marks a fresh escalation in the long-running legal and political controversy surrounding the detained IPOB leader.