*Says judicial current process will run its full course

*Commuters suffer as security agencies seal FCT over protest
*Amnesty International kicks as Police teargas protesters, commuters, arrest MNK’s lawyer, brother, journalists
*NPF defends action

BY TEDDY NWANUNOBI, TONY UDOKA AND PETER USMAN

Despite growing public pressure and widespread calls for a political resolution that could pave the way for the release of the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, the Federal Government has maintained a hard line, insisting that no protest or agitation will influence its decision. It reiterated that the judicial process currently underway will run its full course and will not be halted or swayed by street demonstrations.

Special Assistant to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, who made the declaration, warned activist Omoyele Sowore and his supporters against using protests and inflammatory rhetoric to influence Kanu’s trial.

Dare, in a post on his official X handle @SundayDareSD on Monday, cautioned that protests, threats, mob actions, and incendiary language “do not aid the judicial process. Instead, they hinder it, creating unnecessary tension and undermining the rule of law.”

“Sowore and his team can never try these stunts in Europe or America. You cannot employ protest and civil unrest to demand the release of someone accused of terrorism whose case is still in court. Not even in America,” Dare said.

He emphasized that the Nnamdi Kanu case predates the Tinubu administration and remains squarely under the judiciary’s jurisdiction, stressing that the current administration respects judicial independence and will not meddle in ongoing legal processes.

“The judiciary must be allowed to discharge its constitutional duties without external pressure or street campaigns,” he stated.

Motorists and commuters were left in pain and stranded on Monday as officials of the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies barricaded all major roads leading to the Abuja city centre, following the October 20 #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest staged by human rights activist Omoyele Sowore and several groups demanding the unconditional release of Kanu.

Security agencies, which mobilized in the early hours of Monday, blocked the major entry routes to the Abuja city centre, causing heavy gridlock.

The protesters, led by Sowore, had converged in front of Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, demanding Kanu’s release before they were dispersed with teargas by the police.

Kanu, who was first arrested and arraigned in 2015 before being released on bail, was rearrested and extradited from Kenya in 2021. He has since remained in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), facing treason and terrorism charges in a matter that has suffered several adjournments.

NNS correspondents who monitored the protest confirmed that several major routes, especially the popular Shehu Shagari Way, which leads to the Presidential Villa, National Assembly, and other major administrative areas in the FCT were blocked.

There was also heavy deployment of security officers at key points such as the Federal Secretariat, Eagle Square, Unity Fountain, and the Three Arms Zone, all located along Shehu Shagari Way.

The development left commuters from major satellite towns such as Nyanya, Karu, Kubwa, Lugbe, and Airport Road stranded, as videos showed long and painful traffic buildups due to the blocked roads.

It was also gathered that the police arrested two journalists of Agence France-Presse (AFP) who were covering the protest.

The journalists, Nick Roll, an American, and his Nigerian colleague and videographer, John Okunyomih were at the entrance of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Maitama when police officers fired teargas at protesters.

The AFP staffers were reportedly recording the development when officers violently intercepted them. During the confrontation, their camera was damaged and their phones seized as they were arrested.

Subsequently, Roll was released, but Okunyomih was taken to the FCT Command Criminal Investigation Department (CID) before later being freed.

Security agencies also teargassed commuters and protesters indiscriminately to disperse any suspected crowd, including those waiting for vehicles to take them to work.

In popular areas like Berger, combined teams of soldiers and police officers similarly fired teargas at a crowd near the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat in Utako. Witnesses said the crowd was not part of the protest but dispersed quickly when security operatives moved in.

It will be recalled that Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court had issued an interim injunction restricting demonstrations around Aso Rock Villa, National Assembly, Force Headquarters, Court of Appeal, Eagle Square, and Shehu Shagari Way.

Following the court order, the police issued a statement on Sunday warning that any violation would lead to arrests and that digital evidence would be used to track incitement on social media.

Sowore, however, dismissed the police claims of a valid injunction, insisting that the protest would go on as planned since no order was issued against protesters demanding Kanu’s release.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International Nigeria has condemned reports of security forces attempting to suppress the peaceful protest in Abuja.

Reacting in a statement on its X handle, Amnesty International Nigeria said any attempt to undermine freedom of assembly is illegal and reflects an unacceptable intolerance of peaceful dissent.

It stated: “Amnesty International receives disturbing reports of attempts to crack down on peaceful protests holding in Abuja, calling for the release of Nnamdi Kanu.

“People must be allowed to freely exercise their right to peaceful protest.

“Any act capable of undermining freedom of assembly is illegal and portrays unacceptable intolerance of peaceful dissent.

“The Nigerian authorities must ensure that security agencies respect and facilitate the right to peaceful protest, as guaranteed by both the country’s constitution and human rights treaties, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Nigeria is a state party,” Amnesty added.

Meanwhile, the police defended their use of teargas and dismissed reports that they blocked roads, saying their men only cleared the area after protesters obstructed traffic.

In a statement via his X handle on Monday, the Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said police actions were in line with a subsisting court order restricting demonstration in certain parts of the city.

“Police teargassed protesters attempting to approach Aso Villa in clear contravention of a court order restricting protesters from the Villa, National Assembly, Force Headquarters, Court of Appeal, Eagle Square, and Shehu Shagari Way.

“We are the country’s foremost law enforcement agency. We carried out our mandate.

“And we did NOT block the road but cleared it after it was blocked by the protesters. This was to enable other Nigerians easy passage to their respective destinations,” Hundeyin wrote.