0:00
Justice Muhammad Garba Umar of the
0:02
Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on
0:04
Friday apparently rejected the plans by
0:06
the Inspector General of Police IGP Care
0:10
Eggbe token to stop the upcoming Monday
0:13
October 20th planned mass protests by
0:15
Nigerians to demand the release of the
0:17
detained Bafra Republic agitation leader
0:20
Mazi Nami Kanu. But according to the
0:24
organizer of the protest, Omi Saware,
0:26
after the judge initially declined to
0:28
grant the Nigeria Police Force an ex
0:31
party motion to stop the planned protest
0:33
in the open court, the Federal High
0:36
Court judge, Justice Umar reportedly
0:38
granted the motion in chambers, imposing
0:41
a ban on protests at Aso Rock Villa,
0:43
National Assembly or Unity Fountain in
0:46
Abuja. We await a certified true copy of
0:49
the order which our lawyers will review.
0:51
The protest remains unstoppable. While
0:54
this is ongoing, the United States US
0:56
Embassy in Nigeria has warned America
0:59
citizens to be far from the protest
1:02
areas and limit their movements in the
1:04
Nigeria capital city Abuja saying the
1:07
planned protest may lead to disruptions
1:10
and violence. Detailed of the court
1:12
action as captured by Punch newspaper.
1:15
The Federal High Court in Abuja has
1:17
refused the Nigeria Police Force's bid
1:20
to stop the free Nambdi Canyono protest,
1:23
allowing it to proceed as scheduled on
1:25
Monday, October 20th, 2025.
1:28
The inspector general of police, Kyod
1:31
Ebbeken, had dispatched police lawyers
1:33
to the court to move an ex party motion
1:36
against activist and protest organizer
1:38
Amy Saware in a bid to legally preempt
1:41
the planned demonstration slated for the
1:43
Aso Rock Villa. However, Justice Umar of
1:47
the Federal High Court, Abuja, declined
1:50
to grant the motion, which would have
1:52
immediately restrained the protest from
1:54
taking place without hearing the
1:56
opposing side. The judge instead
1:58
instructed the police to formally serve
2:00
notice of their application on Saware
2:03
and adjourned the case until Tuesday for
2:05
a proper contested hearing. Reacting to
2:08
the judicial decision, the protest
2:10
convenor Amy Saware affirmed the court's
2:14
decision as a victory for civil
2:15
liberties and doubled down on the
2:17
scheduled protest. In a statement issued
2:20
on his exhandle on Friday following the
2:22
ruling, Saware said IG of police Nigeria
2:26
Kyote Eggbean dispatched police lawyers
2:29
to Sumi in an effort to halt the free
2:31
Namikanuno protest scheduled for Aso
2:34
Rock Villa on Monday. However, the
2:37
judge, Justice Umar of Federal High
2:39
Court in Abuja, refused to grant the ex
2:42
party motion, instead instructing him to
2:44
serve me notice and adjourning the case
2:46
until Tuesday for a proper hearing. The
2:49
demonstration organized under the #free
2:52
Namikinudo is intended to draw attention
2:55
to the prolonged detention and legal
2:57
fate of Kanu. The police action was seen
3:00
as an attempt to leverage the courts to
3:02
prevent a potentially sensitive
3:04
gathering near the seat of Nigerian
3:06
power. The adjournment to Tuesday
3:08
ensures that the planned Monday protest
3:10
is not currently constrained by a court
3:12
order, setting the stage for a potential
3:15
high-profile confrontation between
3:17
protesters and security agencies around
3:20
the presidential villa. Channels
3:22
television also on Friday reported that
3:25
ahead of the free Namikanuno protest
3:27
slated for Monday, October 20th in the
3:29
nation's capital, the US embassy in
3:32
Abuja has issued a security alert to
3:34
Americans. In a statement published on
3:37
its website on Friday, the embassy
3:39
cautioned that the protest could lead to
3:41
disruptions and potential violence. The
3:44
embassy advised US citizens to steer
3:47
clear of the protest areas and limit
3:49
their movement across the city. The US
3:52
embassy in Abuja informs US citizens
3:54
that the free Nambdi Kano now protest
3:57
has called for peaceful demonstrations
3:59
on Monday, October 20th, 2025 in Abuja.
4:03
There may be roadblocks, traffic,
4:06
congestion, and confrontations between
4:08
police and protesters that could turn
4:10
violent around Eagle Square and the
4:12
central business district. The embassy
4:15
advises all US citizens to avoid this
4:18
area and to severely limit all movement
4:20
throughout the city on Monday, October
4:22
20th. The statement read in part, the
4:25
embassy recommended that children stay
4:28
home from school and that domestic staff
4:30
who commute from outside Abuja do not
4:32
report to work on that day. It also
4:35
called on all Americans in Nigeria to
4:38
take heightened security precautions.
4:40
The planned protest was announced by
4:42
activist and former presidential
4:44
candidate of the African Action Congress
4:47
Amayle Saware on his exac account on
4:49
October 9th. Saware stated that the
4:52
protest would take place on October 20th
4:55
and be directed toward the Aso Rock
4:57
presidential villa. He described it as a
5:00
historic and peaceful demonstration
5:02
aimed at securing the release of the
5:04
leader of the prescribed indigenous
5:06
people of Bafra, Nambdi Kanu. Carno, who
5:10
is currently facing terrorism charges at
5:12
the Federal High Court in Abuja, has
5:15
been in custody since June 2021
5:17
following his controversial extradition
5:19
from Kenya. But shortly after the afor
5:22
media reports, Amayle Saware in a
5:25
statement through his social media
5:27
accounts on Friday said that after
5:30
failing to obtain a legitimate court
5:32
order to halt the unstoppable free
5:34
namanuno protest, the Nigeria police
5:36
force has now resorted to a fresh wave
5:39
of panic-driven measures. In Onondo
5:41
state, police authorities have
5:43
reportedly ordered that officers
5:45
sympathetic to the movement be confined
5:47
to their barracks, an action that
5:49
exposes the deep unease within the
5:51
system. Rather than engage with the
5:53
legitimate and peaceful demands of
5:55
citizens, the police are turning their
5:57
energy toward internal repression and
5:59
fear tactics, a clear sign that the
6:02
movement's message has struck a nerve.
6:04
The people are awake and the movement
6:06
remains unstoppable. In another
6:09
statement on Friday accompanied with
6:11
video footage, Amy Saware said, "Earlier
6:14
today, the Nigeria Police Force FCT
6:18
command invited barristister Maxwell
6:20
Opara to discuss the planned free
6:21
Namikanuno protest. Upon our arrival at
6:25
the command's entrance, we were abruptly
6:27
stopped by a police contingent stationed
6:29
at the gate. officers claimed the new
6:32
commissioner of police was resuming duty
6:34
and could not attend to visit us until
6:36
after his official resumption rituals.
6:39
When we were eventually allowed through,
6:41
the senior police officer, Habib
6:43
Muhammad, who had extended the
6:44
invitation, met us and presented a copy
6:47
of the organizers's letter seeking
6:49
police protection. Barrista Maxwell
6:51
Opara had not arrived at that point. A
6:54
letter filed by Barister Opara as legal
6:56
representative of the protest movement.
6:59
But the tone of the meeting shifted
7:01
quickly after the senior police officer
7:03
Muhammad received a phone call. He
7:05
informed us that the deputy commissioner
7:07
of police DCP in charge of the state
7:10
intelligence department sid wished to
7:13
meet us. When we arrived at his office,
7:16
he expressed surprise at my presence at
7:19
the FCT command, claiming that no
7:21
invitation had been extended to me
7:23
personally. He remained polite and we
7:26
left courteously. Shortly after,
7:29
Barrister Maxwell Opara arrived to the
7:31
Sup's office where the conversation
7:33
turned tense. The officer issued a
7:36
veiled threat, warning that Barrister
7:38
Opara would be held responsible if
7:40
anything goes wrong anywhere in Abuja on
7:43
Monday. Barrista Oara reminded him that
7:46
this was precisely why the organizers
7:48
had sent a formal notification to ensure
7:51
a peaceful and lawful demonstration.
7:53
The officer reportedly began shouting
7:56
and the meeting ended abruptly.
7:58
According to Barrister Opara, it became
8:01
clear that they did not want me present
8:03
because they were seeking someone they
8:05
could intimidate. Not long after we left
8:08
the command, the illegal IGP directed
8:10
police lawyers to obtain a court order
8:12
to stop the protest. However, the
8:15
federal high court judge declined to
8:17
grant the order in open court. It was
8:20
later reported that a limited purpose
8:23
order was issued but no such order has
8:26
been served on the organizers. The free
8:28
Namikanuno protest is unstoppable. We
8:31
are proceeding as planned peacefully,
8:34
lawfully and with unwavering resolve.
8:43
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