Court grants bail to Sowore, Nnamdi Kanu’s Lawyer, Other #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protesters

A Magistrate Court in Kuje, Abuja, has granted bail to human rights activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore; Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor; the IPOB leader’s younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu; and ten other protesters arrested during the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow demonstration in Abuja on Monday, October 20.

The court set bail at ₦500,000 for each defendant and ordered them to submit their verified National Identification Number (NIN) to the court registrar. They are also required to provide three-year tax clearance certificates and surrender their international passports.

The protesters were arrested by operatives of the Nigerian Police Force for allegedly engaging in unlawful assembly and disturbing public peace. Their arrest has drawn condemnation from legal experts and pro-democracy supporters, who described it as an attack on the right to peaceful protest.

Sowore was reportedly apprehended on Thursday, October 23, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where he had gone to express solidarity with Nnamdi Kanu during his ongoing terrorism trial.

Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), is facing terrorism-related charges filed by the Federal Government after his arrest and extradition from Kenya.

The court’s ruling granting bail to the defendants comes amid heightened public scrutiny and continued calls for Nnamdi Kanu’s release.