ABUJA, Nigeria

Nigerian police clashed Monday with protesters demanding the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), according to eyewitnesses. 

Kanu is on trial on terrorism charges, and the group seeks to establish a separate state of Biafra for the Igbo people in the country’s southeast.

Police fired tear gas at protesters in the capital Abuja, injuring several people, including journalists.

The protest was part of the #ReleaseNnamdiKanuNow campaign, which aims to pressure the government to comply with a 2022 Court of Appeal judgment that discharged and acquitted Kanu, who holds British citizenship. The ruling, however, was overturned by the Supreme Court the following year. The case has sparked widespread debate and protests across Nigeria.

According to witnesses, police used excessive force to disperse the protesters, who were peacefully demanding Kanu's release. The protesters had gathered in the Utako area of Abuja, but were forced to flee after the police fired tear gas.

During the protest, two journalists of French news agency AFP identified as Nick Roll, an American; and John Okunyomih, a videographer who is Nigerian, were arrested.

The AFP staffers were filming assaults on protesters when police officers violently accosted and attempted to restrain them. During the confrontation, their camera got damaged while their phones were seized.

The journalists were released two hours later.

Meanwhile, Aloy Ejimakor, one of the lawyers representing Kanu, was also injured by police.

“I was simply going to my place of work when the police started teargassing people. I was beaten to stupor. My son was also injured in the cause,” Stephen Okon, one of those injured by police, told Anadolu.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force, Ben Hundeyin, told Anadolu that police tear-gassed protesters because they attempted to approach presidential residence Aso Villa, the National Assembly, Force Headquarters, and Court of Appeal.

“We did not block the road but cleared it after it was blocked by the protesters. This is to enable other Nigerians easy passage to their respective destinations.”

He, however, did not comment on the attack on journalists and other civilians by the police.