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Officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) used tear gas on people travelling in the Central Business District of the capital city on Monday morning after some activists started gathering in certain spots in Abuja for a protest demanding the release of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
The protest is being led by human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore.
Some people who were waiting for buses to go to work were affected by the tear gas. Security forces also closed major roads in the capital, causing traffic jam.
Kanu has been held by the Department of State Services (DSS) since he was arrested in June 2021. He is currently on trial at the High Court in Abuja.
The police and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) had earlier marked some areas as “no protest zones” to prepare for the march. On Saturday, the police told groups planning to protest against Kanu’s detention to follow a court order that stops protests near important government buildings.
Benjamin Hundeyin, the police spokesperson, said a court order from Abuja’s High Court stopped groups from holding protests inside or near Aso Rock, the National Assembly complex, police headquarters, the Court of Appeal, Eagle Square, and Shehu Shagari Way.
