Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore and Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, have been released from Kuje Prison after spending four days in detention.
Sowore, who was detained last week after appearing in Kuje Magistrate Court, announced his release on Monday via X, formerly known as Twitter.
He wrote, “Happening Now: Leaving Kuje Prison in Abuja after being detained there illegally for four days. #FreeNnamdiKanuNow.”
On Friday, a Magistrate Court in Kuje granted bail to Sowore, Ejimakor, Nnamdi Kanu’s brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, and ten others who were arrested during the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in Abuja.
Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’id issued the bail order after the defendants were charged with unlawful assembly and disturbing public peace.
Each was granted bail of ₦500,000 and required to provide two sureties from the FCT, valid identification, a three-year tax clearance, and their passports.
After his release, Ejimakor described the detention as “traumatic and inhumane,” criticizing the police for using excessive force during and after the protest.
He said officers shoved and beat people, with some sustaining injuries, and tear gas was fired directly at the protesters.
“The experience was traumatic for me, for my colleagues, for everybody. People cooperating with the police were shoved, beaten, and some of them sustained injuries. Tear gas canisters were deployed directly at most of us. Two had an impact on me.
“In fact, if we didn’t have strong lungs, some of us would have given up the ghost on the spot. I don’t think that type of brutality has a place in a well-ordered modern society,” he said.
Ejimakor accused the police of “unlawful and unnecessary brutality,” noting that tear gas was used even after protesters were under control, including at the CID headquarters in Garki.
“Even at the police headquarters, CID, Garki, they deployed several canisters of tear gas just to get us into vehicles. You didn’t need to do that because we were already under your control. It’s unlawful. It’s brigandage, and it is executive rascality in high places,” he said.
Clarifying the motive of the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest, Ejimakor said the demonstration targeted the presidency, not the courts.
“If the presidency or the attorney general withdraws the case, the court will have nothing to try. Our protest was to urge President Tinubu to end Kanu’s unjust prosecution,” he explained.
Sowore’s lawyer, Temitope Temokun, told Channels Television’s “Inside Sources” that despite meeting all bail conditions within 30 minutes, police still forcibly took Sowore to Kuje Prison.
Temokun called the action “unnecessary and premeditated,” alleging that over ten armed officers attacked those filming the incident.
He added that the police had no proper authorization to transfer Sowore, describing the detention as “illegal and disguised as a remand process.”
The police had charged Ejimakor, Emmanuel Kanu, and ten others with inciting public disturbance and breaching the peace after the protest in Abuja.
The charges claimed the protesters blocked traffic, restricted people’s movement, and chanted war songs while demanding Kanu’s release.
KanyiDaily recalls that Omoyele Sowore had also accused security forces of attacking peaceful protesters without provocation during the #FreeNnamdiKanu rally.
