The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed October 29 for the hearing of the suit filed by the Nigeria Police Force against human rights activist Omoyele Sowore and other conveners of the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest.
The case, earlier slated for October 20, was stalled due to the protest held on the same day, which reportedly disrupted court activities in Abuja.
Justice Mohammed Umar had earlier issued an interim order restraining Sowore and others from protesting in certain sensitive areas of the Federal Capital Territory, including Aso Rock Villa, the National Assembly, Force Headquarters, the Court of Appeal, Eagle Square, and Shehu Shagari Way, pending the determination of the substantive motion.
The order followed an ex parte motion filed by police counsel Wisdom Madaki, acting on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2202/2025, lists Sowore, Sahara Reporters Ltd, and Sahara Reporters Media Foundation as the 1st to 3rd respondents, alongside the Take It Back Movement (TIB) and “Unknown Persons” as the 4th and 5th respondents.
In an affidavit in support of the motion, Bassey Ibithan, a police officer from the Directorate of Legal Services at Force Headquarters, argued that the planned protest could threaten national security if not restrained.
Sowore, the 2019 and 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), had announced plans to hold a peaceful demonstration on October 20 to demand the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Several individuals, including Kanu’s special counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, were reportedly arrested during the protest. Ejimakor is scheduled to be arraigned on October 24 at the Kuje Magistrate Court in Abuja.
