Human rights activist, comrade Omoyele Sowore on Monday, October 20, 2025, reappeared at the #FreeNnamdiKanu protest in Abuja, thereby boosting the moral of the demonstrators and creating more crowd that seemed to have increased in triple for their action plan.
The convener of the #FreeNnamdiKanu protests, Omoyele Sowore, had earlier directed the protesters to change base and move to an undisclosed location following the disruption of the protests by security agencies led by officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
Following the chaos created as a result of the tear gas fired at the protesters by the police to disperse the demonstrators some of the protesters took cover in some available shelter in adjourning streets and buildings from where their organised to relaunch their protests.
Surprisingly, as opposed to the earlier tensions created, the Police and security agencies suddenly changed tactics from disrupting the protest with cannisters and arrest to accompanying the demonstrators along major routes.
The routes the security operatives accompanied the protesters to march through included the Shehu Shagari Way, Aso Drive, and the Federal Secretariat axis as they ensured that the protesters maintained peace, order and adhered to safety measures.
Following the development, the protest remained peaceful, even as more citizens joined in the process even as traffic situation was negatively affected in the city centre.
This was as observers described the scene as a massive and orderly protest calling for the immediate release of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
One of the Observers who identified as Samari Madaki noted that it was a thing to see people come out in such numbers, demonstrating peacefully and with the police providing backup like it happens in some advance countries.
However, authorities have appealed to motorists and other road users as well as residents, to exercise restraint and caution while commuting along the affected corridors during the protest.
Significantly, some of the major roads in Abuja experienced serious gridlocked as the #FreeNnamdiKanu protest caused severe traffic disruptions across the city centre.
Earlier, security forces deployed used force to disperse the protesters that initially gathered at the Unity Fountain and other nearby areas by firing cannisters at them.
Similarly, some of the protesters, including bystanders, were arrested as security agents moved to clear the roads, a development that led to massive traffic gridlock along the popular Shehu Shagari Way, Aso Drive, Maitama, and Airport Road as police barricades and checkpoints blocked major access roads to the city centre.
As a result, commuters abandoned vehicles they had boarded while others were forced to seek alternative routes.
