Excitement filled the air at the Kuje Magistrate’s Court on Friday as fiery activist Omoyele Sowore, Aloy Ejimakor, a lawyer to detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, Kanu’s brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, and ten other protesters were granted bail.
The court, sitting in Kuje, ordered that the thirteen defendants be released on bail in the sum of ₦500,000 each, with two sureties in like sum.
They were all arraigned for allegedly inciting public disturbance and breaching the peace during the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest held in Abuja on October 20.
Ejimakor, Emmanuel Kanu, and the other ten were arrested during the protest and remanded at the Kuje Correctional Facility, while Sowore was dramatically picked up three days later, on October 23, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, after showing up to express solidarity with Kanu during his terrorism trial.
The courtroom scene drew sympathisers and activists, many chanting for justice and the release of political detainees.
The ruling has been hailed by observers as a victory for free speech and a test case for civic rights in the capital.
Details shortly…
