The Nigeria Police Force on Tuesday arraigned Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, his younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, and ten others over their involvement in the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest held in Abuja on Monday.
The suspects were brought before a court in the Federal Capital Territory following allegations that the protest disrupted public movement and violated an existing court order.
Court documents shared by former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, revealed that the accused persons were charged with inciting disturbance and breaching public peace.
According to the police, the protesters obstructed the free movement of other citizens, disrupted traffic flow, and chanted war songs while demanding the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Meanwhile, the Transparency International (TI) has asked the Nigerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release lawyer Aloy Ejimakor and Prince Emmanuel Kanu and to drop the bizarre plan to subject them to sham trial based on fabricated charges, adding that their arrest and plan to arraign them shows a desperate attempt to silence peaceful dissent.
"Remanding them in Kuje Prison marks a further and chilling escalation of Nigerian government’s relentless efforts to undermine freedom of assembly. What President Bola Tinubu’s government is subjecting Aloy Ejimakor and Prince Emmanuel Kanu to comes in the context of a much wider crackdown on civic space. This travesty of justice must stop."
Earlier, the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today that Ejimakor, Prince Kanu, and others would be charged after investigations were concluded.
Hundeyin said, “We arrested Nnamdi Kanu’s brother and his lawyer because they insisted on accessing restricted areas.
Alongside them, six others were also arrested around the Transcorp area for the same reason, making a total of eight suspects.
They are at the State CID, and once investigations are completed, they will face prosecution.”
He emphasized that the police would not tolerate actions that threaten public order or disregard lawful directives.
0 Comments