United Against Injustice: Nigerians Rally for Nnamdi Kanu’s Freedom on October 20 gaining momentum

United Against Injustice: Nigerians Rally for Nnamdi Kanu’s Freedom on October 20 gaining momentum   Palpable energy is building across ...

United Against Injustice: Nigerians Rally for Nnamdi Kanu’s Freedom on October 20 gaining momentum

 

Palpable energy is building across Nigeria and beyond for what promises to be a watershed moment in the fight for justice. The FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest, spearheaded by activist Omoyele Sowore, is set to converge on Abuja's Aso Rock Presidential Villa on October 20, demanding the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the imprisoned leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). What began as a clarion call from Sowore has snowballed into a nationwide and international movement, transcending ethnic lines and drawing endorsements from unlikely quarters. This isn't just a rally, it's a referendum on Nigeria's rule of law, human rights, and the festering wound of selective justice.

 

Nnamdi Kanu has been a lightning rod in Nigerian politics since his 2015 arrest for advocating Biafran self-determination. Abducted in 2021 from Kenya deemed illegal by the Court of Appeal in 2022 he remains detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) on charges of terrorism and treasonable felony, despite multiple court orders for his release. Critics, including Kanu's legal team, argue his continued incarceration is a blatant defiance of judicial authority, especially when the government negotiates with armed bandits who have spilled far more blood.

 

Omoyele Sowore, the firebrand journalist and 2023 African Action Congress presidential candidate, whose Revolution Now campaigns have long challenged state overreach. On October 9, Sowore announced the protest date via X: "We now have a date for the historic FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest march to the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja. It is October 20 at 7 a.m." He framed it not as ethnic agitation but a "uniting movement" for conscience and justice, urging participants to set aside tribal or partisan divides. By October 11, Sowore reported a surge in momentum: "People are flying into Nigeria from across the world, while others are journeying from every corner of the country to join the historic march." This global influx underscores the protest's viral pull, amplified by hashtags like MNKOct20, which are trending across social media.

 

The protest's rapid escalation reflects a rare cross-section of Nigerian society rallying around a singular cause. In the South-East, the Igbo Women Assembly (IWA) has thrown its weight behind the march, launching mass mobilization efforts and hailing Kanu as a "freedom fighter persecuted for speaking out against the oppression of his people."  "If the Nigerian government could negotiate with armed bandits... then freeing Nnamdi Kanu should not be treated as a complicated issue," they declared, echoing a sentiment that resonates amid rising insecurity.

 

Political heavyweights are aligning too. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a frequent Tinubu critic, called Kanu's detention "an open sore on our nation’s conscience and a stain on our belief in the rule of law," pledging full support.

 

Abia Federal Lawmaker Obi Aguocha endorsed it as a stand against "unusual injustice" toward the Igbo, while civil rights groups like De-Advocates for Justice vowed to mobilize en masse. Even the Yoruba Union, Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá, issued a fiery warning to President Bola Tinubu: Do not deploy security forces to quash the "peaceful demonstration," as it would "deepen Nigeria’s existing divisions." From Benue State's Concerned Citizens to Pastor Adewale Giwa's pulpit pleas for peace through release, the endorsements paint a picture of a nation weary of double standards.

 

Earlier student protests by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in early October set the stage, with videos of placard-waving crowds demanding compensation for Kanu circulating widely. Reveals a groundswell of posts framing the event as a "united front against injustice," with calls for governors like Alex Otti and Chukwuma Soludo to join or risk irrelevance.

 

Not everyone is on board. The Presidency, through Special Adviser Bayo Onanuga, dismissed Sowore as an "anarchist masquerading as a rights activist" and the protest as a ploy to "cause a breakdown of law and order," insisting Kanu will get "the justice he deserves" through courts delays blamed partly on his lawyers. Onanuga also swiped at Atiku's support as "opportunistic." Security concerns linger; rumors of army threats were denied, but the DSS's history of clamping down on dissent casts a shadow.

 

With eight days to go, the FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest embodies Nigeria's deepening fault lines: a judiciary undermined by executive fiat, ethnic grievances weaponized by the state, and a populace increasingly unafraid to march. Sowore's vision of a "peaceful and lawful" gathering potentially kicking off with a visit to the Attorney General could force Tinubu's hand, especially as global eyes turn to Abuja. If successful, it might echo the 2020 EndBadGovernance protests in forcing concessions; if suppressed, it risks escalating tensions in a region already scarred by "sit-at-home" enforcements and unknown gunmen. As voices from Benue to the diaspora unite, one thing is clear: This movement isn't fading. It's gaining steam, fueled by the simple, unyielding truth that injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere. October 20 could redefine Nigeria's social contract or expose its fragility. The world, quite literally, is watching.

 

Family Writers Press International