A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted an interim injunction restraining human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, and others from organising or participating in the planned October 20 protest calling for the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
The order followed an ex parte application filed by the Federal Government through the Nigeria Police Force, seeking to halt the planned demonstration in the Federal Capital Territory.
Justice M. G. Umar, who presided over the matter, barred Sowore, the Take It Back Movement, the #RevolutionNow group, and “persons unknown” from participating in, organising, or promoting the protest. The suit is marked FHC/ABJ/2202/2025.
Confirming the development, Sowore, a former presidential candidate, alleged that the order was issued in chambers after the court initially declined to grant the same request in open session.
“After initially declining to grant an ex parte motion to stop our planned protest in open court, the judge reportedly granted it in chambers, imposing a ban on protests at Aso Rock Villa, the National Assembly, and the Unity Fountain in Abuja,” Sowore said in a post on his social media page.
The activist and several civil society groups had announced plans to hold a #FreeNnamdiKanu protest on Monday, October 20, to demand Kanu’s immediate release from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS). The protest, which gained significant traction online, had been endorsed by prominent political figures, including a former vice president and a former senate president.
Organisers had vowed to march to the Aso Rock Villa, the seat of presidential power, to press home their demands.
However, the Federal Government argued that the planned demonstration could breach public peace and security, urging the court to intervene preemptively.
Kanu has remained in DSS custody since June 2021, facing a seven-count charge bordering on terrorism and treasonable felony. He was first arrested in 2015 and later released on bail in 2017 on health grounds before fleeing the country after a military raid on his residence in Abia State.
He was re-arrested in Kenya in 2021 and extraordinarily renditioned to Nigeria. In 2022, the Federal High Court struck out eight of the 15 charges against him, but the Supreme Court later allowed the Federal Government to continue his trial on the remaining counts after overturning a Court of Appeal judgment ordering his release.
Kanu’s prolonged detention has sparked public outcry and renewed calls for his release, culminating in the now-halted October 20 protest.
