BREAKING: Sowore, Ejimakor, Others’ #FreeNnamdiKanuNow Trial Stalled Over Police ‘Unpreparedness’ At Kuje Court

The defendants, who were remanded in Kuje Prison for their participation in the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow peaceful protest in October 2025, had appeared at the magistrate court in Kuje, Abuja, as proceedings were set to resume.

The trial of human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, alongside Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, Special Counsel to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, and 11 other defendants, was stalled on Monday, December 15, 2025, due to apparent lack of preparedness by the Nigeria Police Force.

The defendants, who were remanded in Kuje Prison for their participation in the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow peaceful protest in October 2025, had appeared at the magistrate court in Kuje, Abuja, as proceedings were set to resume.

The disruption marks the latest setback in a case that has drawn national attention over issues of civil protest and the right to dissent.

While they awaited the arrival of the Magistrate, Ejimakor tweeted, “I'm here with Omoyele Sowore. We are here as comrades to face the injustice that was brought upon us on October 20th when we were arrested for simply engaging in a civil protest.

“I'm speaking to you right now from the confines of the Magistrate Court sitting in Kuje. We are awaiting the arrival of the court and for the court to convene.”

However, after the court session, Sowore and Ejimakor, alongside their lawyers led by Barrister Maxwell Okpara, said the case was stalled and adjourned after the police cited a lack of preparedness.

“The case of the Nigeria Police Force’s illegal IGP against 14 activists participating in the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest was adjourned today by the Magistrate Court in Kuje, with the police citing lack of preparedness despite having arrested the defendants in October,” Sowore said outside the courtroom.

Addressing journalists, Sowore said, “The proof is the statement; they have nothing more. They just want to waste our time. But we had the time to let the court know that we don't have time for all these frivolous cases.

“We have a country to save. Election is coming in 2027, and we badly want to displace Bola Tinubu and his gang of robbers, criminals, and looters, so that we can retire the already tired and retired Police IG and prosecute all of them just like they have arrested Malami and the rest of them.

“When we come to office, we will rearrest everybody that has been prosecuted and prosecute them properly, accordingly.”

“It is high time you begin to ask questions on how our money is being used to prosecute matters because some of us are ignorant that Nigeria spends money in prosecuting cases,” their lawyer, Okpara, said.

Okpara noted that the police did not come to court with any evidence except the statement served on the defendants in the courtroom on Monday.

“We are saying that we are ready, but the people prosecuting are saying they are not ready. They are pleading for an adjourned date. They did not come with any of their witnesses,” he said.

“Remember, they left the courts in town and decided to come to Kuje. We want Nigerians to follow this matter up.”

Sowore, alongside Ejimakor, Nnamdi Kanu’s younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, and 11 other protesters, were arrested by the Nigeria Police Force during the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest held in Abuja on October 20, 2025.

The group was reportedly teargassed and beaten before being taken to the CID unit of the State Police Command and subsequently detained overnight at the notorious SARS cell known as the Abattoir.

The following day, they were transported by police to the Kuje Magistrate Court without their lawyer and were summarily remanded by Senior Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’id, who, sources claim, had coordinated with the police to keep them in custody.

They were arraigned on charges of unlawful assembly and disturbing public peace. Magistrate Sai’id later granted each defendant bail of ₦500,000, conditional on presenting a verified National Identification Number (NIN).

The court also required the submission of three-year tax clearance certificates and passports as part of the bail terms.

After meeting these conditions, Sowore and the other defendants were released from Kuje Prison.