The African states police have been accused of using force against demonstrators calling for Nnamdi Kanus freedom

Police in Nigeria have arrested several people, including journalists and lawyers, during protests demanding the release of separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu in the West African country's capital, Abuja, rights groups have reported.

Protests in Abuja on Monday turned violent after security forces fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds, according to multiple media outlets.

"Protesters, lawyers and journalists were subjected to atrocities that include arrests, beatings, confiscation of cameras, as well as dangerous and reckless use of tear gas," the local branch of human rights non-profit Amnesty Internationalwroteon X.

The organization accused Nigerian authorities of failing to "respect and uphold the right to freedom of assembly."

Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group that seeks independence for Nigeria's ethnic Igbo-dominated southeastern region, has been in custody since 2021, when he was extradited from Kenya to face charges including terrorism and treason. Abuja has banned the IPOB and designated it a terrorist organization, accusing it of leading violent campaigns against the state for Biafra's secession. Biafra existed as an independent nation from 1967 to 1970, but lost its statehood after a brutal three-year civil war with the Nigerian military. The IPOB has long complained of being marginalized and oppressed by the federal government.

Supporters of Kanu say his detention is politically motivated and demand his immediate release. The police had sought to block the latest marches, but a federal court last week dismissed the bid, allowing the protest to proceed.

On Tuesday, demonstration organizer Omoyele Sowore, a local activist,saidKanu's brother Prince Emmanuel Kanu, his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, and 11 others arrested during the rallies were being sent to a magistrate court in Abuja. Later, the separatist leader's younger brotherwroteon X that the court has remanded the lead counsel in Kanu's case.

Last month, Simon Ekpa, a Finland-based activist and IPOB official, was sentenced to six years in prison by a Finnish court for using social-media platforms to incite crimes with terrorist intent and to bolster the movement's push for independence from Africa's most populous nation.

(RT.com)