Growing concerns over Nigeria’s shrinking civic space have again taken centre stage following Monday’s arrest of Prince Emmanuel Kanu, younger brother of detained IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and his lawyer, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, during a peaceful demonstration in Abuja.
Their arrest — alongside several other supporters demanding compliance with court rulings ordering Kanu’s release — has drawn sharp criticism from civil rights groups at home and abroad.
Among them is the American Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID), a U.S.-based organisation of former servicemen, which in a statement described the action as “a grave assault on democracy and the rule of law.”
“What happened in Abuja was not just an attack on protesters — it was an attack on the idea of free expression itself,” said Dr. Sylvester Onyia, AVID President. “Even in military eras, Nigerians found ways to speak up. To see such repression under a democracy is deeply troubling.”
Onyia said the use of teargas and arrests of unarmed protesters contradicted Nigeria’s constitutional guarantee of peaceful assembly and risked damaging the nation’s global image.
AVID noted that the Court of Appeal, in its October 13, 2022 ruling, had discharged and acquitted Nnamdi Kanu, declaring his continued detention illegal and his extraordinary rendition from Kenya as a breach of international law.
“That judgment has not been vacated,” Onyia stressed. “The government’s continued detention of Kanu undermines both judicial authority and Nigeria’s human rights commitments.”
The group urged President Bola Tinubu to order the immediate release of those arrested and to ensure that security agencies act in line with democratic principles.
“A government’s credibility is measured by its respect for law and dissent,” Onyia said. “Teargassing peaceful citizens is a betrayal of that trust.”
Beyond the immediate arrests, AVID warned that the suppression of lawful protest deepens mistrust and widens divisions at a time when the country needs unity and dialogue.
“As veterans, we know that peace cannot be enforced by force,” Onyia added. “It is achieved through justice, inclusion, and respect for rights.”
The group reaffirmed its commitment to peaceful advocacy and urged religious and civic leaders to champion dialogue as a means to national healing.
“Nigeria has come too far to allow intolerance to undo decades of democratic progress,” Onyia said. “The world is watching — and history will judge how this moment is handled.”