By Charles Pemu 
ABUJA — The fallout from Monday’s #FreeNnamdiKanu protest escalated dramatically yesterday as a Chief Magistrate’s Court sitting in Kuje remanded Mr. Aloy Ejimakor, a key member of the detained IPOB leader’s legal team, in Kuje prison.
Ejimakor was remanded alongside Nnamdi Kanu’s younger brother, Emmanuel (also known as Fineboy), and ten others arrested during the demonstration for the unconditional release of the embattled IPOB leader, who has been held by the Department of State Services since 2021 on terrorism charges.
The Police, in their First Information Report (FIR) filed before the court, accused the twelve defendants of criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance, and breach of public peace. The charges allege that the group held the protest in deliberate disobedience to a court order, disrupting traffic and chanting war songs in a manner that “threatens national security.”
The defendants could not enter a plea yesterday due to the absence of legal representation. Although one of the accused, a legal practitioner named Okere Nnamdi, elected to defend himself, Mr. Ejimakor’s plea for a stand-down to allow their legal team to arrive was rejected by the court, which promptly adjourned the case until Friday.
A member of Kanu’s legal team disclosed that a motion for bail was swiftly filed. However, attempts to serve the bail application on the police failed, as the officers informed them that the authorized person to accept the process was unavailable, leading the lawyer to lament the “unfortunate situation.”
Confirming his status via a post on social media platform X, Mr. Ejimakor stated he was “safe and sound but still in custody at Kuje prison.” He expressed concern over the process, alleging that the authorities bypassed several Magistrate’s Courts in the city center to take the case specifically to Kuje, and noted that the Magistrate refused to hear their submissions, insisting on the remand until Friday.
The court action comes a day after the Federal High Court ruling by Justice Mohammed Umar last Friday, which banned the protests from sensitive areas including Aso Rock Villa, the National Assembly, and Unity Fountain, restraining the organizers led by activist Omoyele Sowore.
Speaking on the arrests, former Senate President, Senator Adolphus Wabara, strongly condemned the actions of the security operatives and demanded the immediate release of all those detained. Wabara, who is the Board of Trustees Chairman for the PDP, described the intimidation and arrests as “a serious dent on Nigeria’s global image,” urging President Bola Tinubu to call the security agencies to order.
Accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of using intimidation and brute force against dissenting voices despite being a “product of protests,” Senator Wabara advised the President to consider appeals for Nnamdi Kanu’s release as a political solution to reduce tension in the South-East.
In a similar vein, civil rights activist Dele Farotimi faulted both the Nigerian Police and the judiciary, stating their roles in restricting peaceful protests suggest Nigeria is only “mimicking and pretending to be in a democracy.” Farotimi argued that the judiciary is now an extension of the executive and no longer serves the cause of justice.
Meanwhile, ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) and Amnesty International (AI) issued a joint statement strongly condemning the “brutal and unlawful attacks” on peaceful demonstrators in Abuja and Lagos. They asserted that the excessive force infringed on citizens’ fundamental rights and demanded an immediate, impartial, and independent investigation into all reported attacks, urging the Tinubu-led administration to decisively demonstrate its commitment to human rights.