The Federal High Court in Abuja has postponed the hearing of the case filed by the Nigeria Police Force against activist Omoyele Sowore and other organisers of the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest to November 5.
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The case, originally scheduled for Wednesday, could not proceed because the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, was away on official duty at the court’s Enugu division. As a result, the matter, which appeared as number 11 on the cause list, was adjourned for hearing of the motion on notice.
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The suit stems from an earlier ex parte application filed by the police seeking to restrict Sowore and his group from staging protests in parts of Abuja over the continued detention of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu. The police had argued that the protest could threaten public peace and national security.
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On October 17, Justice Umar granted an interim order restraining the protesters from gathering around sensitive areas, including Aso Rock Villa, the National Assembly, Force Headquarters, the Court of Appeal, Eagle Square, and Shehu Shagari Way. The judge had also directed the respondents to appear in court on October 20 to explain why the order should not be set aside.
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However, that sitting was disrupted after the planned protest went ahead on October 20, causing disruptions around the Federal High Court complex in Abuja and halting proceedings for the day.
The police suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2202/2025, lists Sowore, Sahara Reporters Limited, and Sahara Reporters’ Media Foundation as the first three respondents. Also joined are the Take It Back Movement and other unnamed groups or individuals allegedly acting under the same purpose.
The affidavit supporting the application, deposed to by police officer Bassey Ibithan, claimed the protest was capable of causing public disorder if not restrained.
Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), had called for a peaceful demonstration to demand Kanu’s release. The court will now continue the case on November 5, when the motion for setting aside the interim order is expected to be heard.
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