Dare Babalola
Human rights activist and convener of the #RevolutionNow movement, Omoyele Sowore, has stated that #FreeNnamdiKanu protesters did not provoke security operatives who dispersed the demonstration on Monday.
The activist, who spoke via zoom on Channels Television on Monday, stated that the security operatives stormed the venue of the protest ground with about 10 trucks, some of which were gun trucks.
He stressed that the demonstrators were attacked with unprovoked saying, “I was talking to them, they didn’t particularly have any leadership, they were about 10 trucks, some of them gun trucks, that arrived as soon as we started the protest and people were coming around.
“So, there was no provocation on our part, we had promised an orderly protest, it was peaceful but it was an unprovoked attack from the police force and combined team of security people in the city.”
Sowore had urged Nigerians to join a nationwide protest demanding the release of detained Indigenous People of Biafra’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu, despite a court order restricting demonstrations around key government areas in Abuja.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday morning, Sowore called on citizens to take to the streets in peaceful protest.
“Good morning, wherever you may be this morning, do not stop moving. Carry a sign, sing a song, make a statement!” he wrote.
He had earlier shared a message on Sunday night welcoming participants to the protest tagged#FreeNnamdiKanuNow.
The protest, however, took a new turn as security operatives fired live bullets and teargas to disperse the demonstrators who chanted #FreeNnamdiKanuNow.
Also, Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, and his brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, were arrested by the security operatives.
