AfriPulse
A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an interim injunction stopping Omoyele Sowore and other activists from organising or taking part in the planned October 20 protest demanding the release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The order, granted by Justice M.G. Umar, followed an ex parte application filed by the Federal Government through the Nigeria Police Force. The court barred Sowore, the Take It Back Movement, the #RevolutionNow group, and “persons unknown” from promoting or joining the demonstration within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/2202/2025, dealt a major blow to activists who had been mobilising nationwide for the protest.
Reacting to the ruling, Sowore, a former presidential candidate, took to 𝕏 to criticise the decision, claiming the injunction was issued secretly after the judge had initially refused the same request in open court. He said the order banned protests around Aso Rock Villa, the National Assembly, and the Unity Fountain.
The planned protest, which had drawn significant attention online, aimed to press for Kanu’s immediate release from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS). The rally had reportedly gained the support of a former Vice President and a former Senate President, further amplifying its political weight.
Meanwhile, the United States has issued a travel advisory urging its citizens to stay away from the protest sites in Abuja as tensions mount.
The Federal Government, in its court filing, argued that the demonstration could threaten public peace and security, urging the court to act preemptively.
Kanu, detained since June 2021, faces charges of terrorism and treasonable felony. He was first arrested in 2015 and later fled Nigeria after being granted bail in 2017. Re-arrested in Kenya and extradited to Nigeria in 2021, he remains in DSS custody despite a Court of Appeal ruling ordering his release in 2022—a decision later overturned by the Supreme Court in 2023.
The October 20 protest was the latest in a string of efforts to secure his freedom, but it has now been suspended following the court’s ruling.
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