Abuja: The Federal High Court in Abuja has issued a restriction order against Mr. Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, and others, preventing them from protesting in specific areas of Abuja, including the Aso Rock Villa, on Monday regarding the release of detained Nnamdi Kanu.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the court’s decision also extends the prohibition to areas near the National Assembly, Force Headquarters, Court of Appeal, Eagle Square, and Shehu Shagari Way, pending the hearing of the motion on notice. This ruling came after Justice Mohammed Umar granted an ex-parte motion filed by police lawyer Wisdom Madaki on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This development counters earlier media reports suggesting otherwise.
The certified true copy of the enrolled order, signed by the court Registrar, Mr. Kasim Muazu, and Justice Umar, was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja. In addition, the judge has ordered an abridgement of time for the respondents to respond to the application on notice, with the hearing set for Monday, October 20, 2025, at 9:00 am.
Contradicting some reports claiming an adjournment until October 21, Justice Umar clearly stipulated that the respondents are temporarily restrained from protesting in the specified areas until the motion on notice is heard. The court also mandated that the order, along with the motion on notice, be served to the respondents on Friday, October 17, 2025.
The ex-parte motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2202/2025, involves the police, representing the Federal Republic of Nigeria, against five respondents. These include Omoyele Sowore, Sahara Reporters Ltd, Sahara Reporters’ Media Foundation, and Take It Back Movement (TIB), along with other organizations or individuals that may act with similar intentions.
The motion, filed on October 16, seeks to ban protests in the designated areas. The affidavit supporting this motion was deposed by Bassey Ibithan, a police officer with the Directorate of Legal Services, Force Headquarters, Abuja.
Mr. Omoyele Sowore had planned the protest to demand the release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Sowore, a former presidential candidate for the African Action Congress, had been mobilizing for what he described as a peaceful protest against Kanu’s detention. Meanwhile, calls for a political resolution to Kanu’s trial, who faces alleged terrorism charges, continue to grow.