A Magistrate’s Court in Kuje, Abuja, on Friday granted bail to activist and publisher Omoyele Sowore, Aloy Ejimakor, a member of Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team, Emmanuel Kanu (the IPOB leader’s brother), and 10 others.
Each defendant was admitted to bail in the sum of ₦500,000, with two sureties in like sum.
All 13 defendants were arrested and arraigned for allegedly inciting public disturbance and breaching the peace during the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest held in Abuja on October 20, 2025.
While Ejimakor, Emmanuel Kanu, and 10 others were apprehended during the protest and remanded at the Kuje Correctional Facility, Sowore was arrested on October 23 at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where he had gone to show solidarity with Kanu during his ongoing terrorism trial.
The defendants are: Omoyele Sowore, Aloy Ejimakor, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, Joshua Emmanuel, Bishop Wilson Anyalewechi, Okere Kingdom Nnamdi, Clinton Chimeneze, Gabriel Joshua, Isiaka Husseini, Onyekachi Ferdinand, Amadi Prince, Edison Ojisom, and Godswill Obiama.
According to the amended First Information Report (FIR), the protesters were charged with “Criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, membership of an unlawful assembly, joining or continuing in unlawful assembly knowing it has been commanded to disperse, disobedience of order duly promulgated by a public servant, inciting disturbance, and disturbance of public peace,” contrary to sections 100, 101, 104, 152, 114, and 113 of the Penal Code Law.
The report alleged that the defendants obstructed movement, disrupted traffic flow, and chanted war songs while demanding Kanu’s release in a manner that threatened public order.
It also stated, “That you, Omoyele Sowore, fled upon sighting security agents and were later arrested. You thereby committed the above-mentioned offences.”
At the resumed hearing on Friday, the prosecution counsel, Adama Musa, applied to withdraw the initial FIR dated October 21 and replace it with a new one dated October 23, to include Sowore’s name. The court granted the request, and all defendants pleaded not guilty.
Defence counsel P.A.N. Ejoiofor informed the court that a bail application supported by a 13-paragraph affidavit had been filed on behalf of the defendants. However, the prosecution opposed it with a counter-affidavit.
Ejoiofor objected, arguing that the prosecution’s counter-affidavit was invalid because it carried the wrong case number, belonging to a separate matter (CR/252/2025) rather than the current one (CR/253/2025).
The Magistrate agreed with the defence, ruling: “There is no counter-affidavit before this court. I cannot rely on a document filed in another case to decide this one.”
Following the ruling, the court granted bail to all 13 defendants.
They were each admitted to ₦500,000 bail, with two sureties in like sum, who must provide evidence of three years’ tax clearance and valid identification such as a National Identification Number (NIN) slip or international passport.
The case was adjourned to December 15, 2025, for hearing.