Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore and Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, have been released from Kuje Prison after four days in detention.

Announcing his release on Monday via X, Sowore wrote:

“Happening Now: Leaving Kuje Prison in Abuja after being detained there illegally for four days. #FreeNnamdiKanuNow.”

He was detained last week following his appearance at the Kuje Magistrate Court.

On Friday, a Magistrate Court sitting in Kuje, Abuja, granted bail to Sowore, Ejimakor, Prince Emmanuel Kanu (Nnamdi Kanu’s brother), and ten others arrested during the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in the Federal Capital Territory.

Presided over by Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sa’id, the court granted each defendant ₦500,000 bail with two sureties resident in the FCT, valid identification, three-year tax clearance certificates, and the surrender of their international passports.

Following his release, Ejimakor described his detention experience as “traumatic and inhumane,” condemning the police for excessive use of force during and after the protest.

“The experience was traumatic for me, for my colleagues, for everybody. People cooperating with the police were shoved, beaten, and some sustained injuries. Tear gas canisters were deployed directly at most of us — two hit me.
If we didn’t have strong lungs, some of us would have given up the ghost on the spot. Such brutality has no place in a modern, well-ordered society,” he said.

He further accused the police of “unlawful and unnecessary brutality,” alleging that officers continued deploying tear gas even after the protesters had been subdued.

“Even at the CID headquarters in Garki, they fired several canisters just to force us into vehicles. That was unlawful. It’s brigandage — executive rascality at the highest level,” he said.

Ejimakor clarified that the protest was directed at the Presidency, not the judiciary.

“If the Presidency or the Attorney-General withdraws the case, the court will have nothing to try. Our protest was to urge President Tinubu to end Kanu’s unjust prosecution,” he said.

Sowore’s counsel, Temitope Temokun, appearing on Channels Television’s Inside Sources, alleged that despite fulfilling all bail conditions within 30 minutes of the ruling, police officers forcibly took Sowore from the court premises to Kuje Prison.

Temokun described the incident as “unnecessary and premeditated,” claiming that more than ten armed policemen assaulted those attempting to film the scene.

He further alleged that the police lacked legal authorisation to remand Sowore in Kuje Prison, calling his detention “illegal and poorly disguised as a remand process.”

The police had earlier charged Ejimakor, Emmanuel Kanu, and ten others with two counts of inciting public disturbance and breach of peace following the protest in Abuja.

According to the charge sheet, the defendants allegedly obstructed traffic, hindered citizens’ right to free movement, and chanted war songs while demanding the release of Nnamdi Kanu.

Sowore had earlier accused security operatives of launching an unprovoked attack on peaceful protesters during the rally.