Undaunted. Resilient. Daring. These may best describe the posture of Omoyele Sowore and his fellow protesters who defied police tear gas and gun shots to shut down most parts of the FCT on Monday, as they called on the president, Bola Tinubu to free the detained Biafra leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
As early as 7am, Sowore had led a team of angry youths into the streets of Abuja in fulfilment of their vow to take over Abuja, in their bid to get Kany released.
About an hour after, anti-riot policemen, some of who had cordoned off all routes to Aso Rock, the National Assembly and other public places of importance, positioned themselves around where the protesters were gathered.
Before the protesters could say ‘Kanu,’ tear gas cannisters had been fired at their direction, forcing Sowore and the others to take to their heels.
But if the police thought that they had chased them away, they were just dreaming. The protesters were to reassemble somewhere else, with more people joining them and chanting various songs, as they called for Kanu’s release.
The development led to serious traffic snarl around most parts of Abuja as the city was shut down. By afternoon on Monday, hundreds of the protesters were on the streets with Sowore, making it difficult for vehicles to move.
Many commuters going to work were stranded in heavy traffic due to road blocks, mounted by security forces to prevent the planned protest called by activists for the release of the leader of Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.The Abuja- Keffi Road been blocked, leaving several commuters stranded as early as 5 a.m, while commuters heading to the city centre from the Bwari axis were cordoned off at Dutse area with aim of preventing them from joining the busy Kubwa Express Way that leads to the city centre.
