Human rights lawyer and special counsel to detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, has suffered respiratory complications after being teargassed by the Nigerian Police during a peaceful #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in Abuja.
Ejimakor, who has since been forced to rely on an inhaler for relief, described the incident as a violation of his constitutional right to peaceful assembly. In a video shared on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle, he lamented that the police targeted unarmed protesters with tear gas canisters.
“The aftermaths of taking two direct teargas hits for exercising my legal right to peaceable assembly,” Ejimakor said.
“When a nation tear-gasses peaceful protesters but romances terrorists in full glare of the public, being designated a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ becomes inevitable.”
He urged President Bola Tinubu to reverse what he called “a negative tide” by ordering the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and all “prisoners of conscience” advocating peaceful self-determination.
Ejimakor was reportedly assaulted and later arrested on October 20, 2025, alongside Prince Emmanuel Kanu, Nnamdi Kanu’s brother, and other activists. They were arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Kuje, Abuja, following orders allegedly issued by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
Human rights advocate and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore confirmed the arrests, condemning the incident as an “illegal and despicable” act. He revealed that the detainees — including Ejimakor, Emmanuel Kanu, and several others — were taken to the notorious SARS Abattoir Detention Facility, long associated with torture and human rights abuses.
“Their only ‘crime’ was exercising their constitutional right to peaceful protest,” Sowore stated.
Ejimakor reportedly developed breathing difficulties while in detention and was rushed to the Kuje Correctional Centre Clinic for emergency medical treatment before being granted bail.
The #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest had called for the immediate release of Nnamdi Kanu, who remains in detention despite multiple court rulings ordering his freedom.
The incident has reignited debate over police brutality, judicial independence, and freedom of assembly in Nigeria — key issues at the heart of the nation’s ongoing human rights challenges.
