By Palang Paul
Amnesty International Nigeria has condemned the reported use of force by security operatives to disperse peaceful protesters in Abuja calling for the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
The human rights group, in a statement on its X handle on Monday, described the clampdown as an attack on citizens’ right to peaceful assembly guaranteed by Nigeria’s Constitution and international treaties.
“Amnesty International receives disturbing reports of attempts to crack down on peaceful protests holding in Abuja, calling for the release of Nnamdi Kanu. People must be allowed to freely exercise their right to peaceful protest,” the organisation said.
It urged the Nigerian authorities to immediately end the repression and engage with demonstrators over their grievances.
Earlier, police operatives had fired tear gas canisters to disperse protesters marching toward the Aso Rock Presidential Villa. The protesters had regrouped at Utako after initially being dispersed around the Maitama area before security operatives moved in again to scatter them, causing panic among commuters and traders.
The Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Benjamin Hundeyin, defended the police action, saying it was in line with a subsisting court order restricting protests around sensitive government facilities.
“Police teargas protesters attempting to approach Aso Villa in clear contravention of a court order restricting demonstrations from the Villa, National Assembly, Force Headquarters, Court of Appeal, Eagle Square, and Shehu Shagari Way,” Hundeyin wrote on X.
He added that officers did not block any road but only cleared obstructions caused by protesters to ensure free movement for other citizens.
The protesters, comprising civil rights activists and members of pro-democracy groups, are part of the #ReleaseNnamdiKanuNow campaign pushing the Federal Government to obey the 2022 Court of Appeal judgment that discharged and acquitted Kanu.
Kanu has remained in the custody of the Department of State Services since June 2021, facing terrorism-related charges over his separatist campaign for an independent Biafra state — an agitation authorities say has contributed to violence across parts of the Southeast.
Amnesty International called on the Nigerian government to ensure that law enforcement agencies respect citizens’ rights to peaceful protest in accordance with both domestic and international human rights laws.
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