A Magistrate Court sitting in Kuje, Abuja, has granted bail to human rights activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, and several protesters arrested during the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow demonstration in the Federal Capital Territory.
Others granted bail include Aloy Ejimakor, lead counsel to detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu; his brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, and 11 other protesters.
Presiding Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’id issued the bail order on Friday after the defendants were arraigned on charges of unlawful assembly and disturbance of public peace.
According to the ruling, each defendant was granted bail in the sum of ₦500,000, on the condition that they present a verified National Identification Number (NIN).
The court further directed the defendants to provide their three-year tax clearance certificates and submit their international passports as part of the bail requirements.
Sowore and the others were arrested on Thursday shortly after leaving the Federal High Court in Abuja, where they had gathered to demand Nnamdi Kanu’s release. Videos of the arrest, which quickly went viral on social media, showed police operatives forcibly taking Sowore into custody.
The incident triggered widespread outrage among civil society groups, human rights advocates, and democracy activists, who accused security agencies of attempting to silence dissent.
Sowore, a veteran activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, has been a leading voice in Nigeria’s democracy movement for over three decades.
Through his platform, he has exposed numerous cases of corruption, rights violations, and abuse of power by government officials.
Many activists hailed Friday’s bail ruling as a victory for civil rights and freedom of expression, calling for the immediate release of all detained protesters.
The protest, tagged #FreeNnamdiKanuNow, was organized to demand the unconditional release of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, who has been in detention since 2021 despite multiple court rulings ordering his release.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police Force has not issued any official statement regarding the arrests or the conditions that led to the protesters’ detention.
