Human rights advocates have condemned the arrest and detention of lawyer Aloy Ejimakor and Prince Emmanuel Kanu, calling on Nigerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release them and drop what they described as fabricated charges.
In a statement on Tuesday, the group described the planned arraignment of the duo as a “sham trial” and a “desperate attempt to silence peaceful dissent.” It said their remand in Kuje Correctional Centre represents “a chilling escalation” of the government’s clampdown on civic freedoms and the right to peaceful assembly.
“The arrest and planned prosecution of Aloy Ejimakor and Prince Emmanuel Kanu show a disturbing pattern of repression under President Bola Tinubu’s administration,” the statement read. “What they are being subjected to is part of a wider crackdown on civic space and democratic expression in Nigeria.”
The group accused the government of using security agencies and the judiciary as tools to persecute citizens who express dissenting opinions, challenge abuses, or demand accountability.
“This travesty of justice must stop. The authorities must end the misuse of state institutions to intimidate or silence individuals exercising their constitutional rights,” the statement added.
Ejimakor, a lawyer known for representing detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, and Prince Emmanuel Kanu, his younger brother, were reportedly arrested under unclear circumstances and subsequently remanded in Kuje Prison pending further legal proceedings.
