ABUJA, Nigeria – Police on Monday fired tear gas to disperse protesters—including activist Omoyele Sowore—who gathered in Abuja to demand the release of detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu.
The demonstration, tagged #ReleaseNnamdiKanuNow, was planned to begin near the Transcorp Hilton but was halted as security forces cordoned off the area and surrounding streets. Eyewitnesses said officers fired tear gas even before crowds assembled, sending protesters and passers-by scrambling for safety.
“The police started firing while people were still gathering,” one witness told reporters, describing the scene as chaotic and suffocating.
A heightened security presence was observed across the capital, with soldiers, police and DSS operatives deployed to the Three Arms Zone, Eagle Square and Unity Fountain to prevent further protests.
Sowore condemned the police action as “a clear violation of the right to peaceful assembly.” He said: “Citizens have every right to protest injustice. Using tear gas against peaceful demonstrators shows the government’s intolerance to dissent.”
As of press time, no arrests had been confirmed, though human-rights groups urged authorities to respect constitutional freedoms of protest and expression.
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