The National Coordinator of the Coalition of Southern Groups and Human Rights Activist, Oladotun Hassan, has described Monday’s “Free Nnamdi Kanu” protest in Abuja as a politically motivated plot to destabilise Nigeria, warning that the demonstration was “a decoy to set the nation ablaze.”
Speaking on ARISE Newspaper on Monday, Hassan said intelligence gathered by his coalition revealed that the protest, led by activist Omoyele Sowore, was “not a genuine call for justice but a premeditated, well-funded plan to incite unrest and undermine the judiciary.”
“We have to look at the dramatis personae of the entire protest,” Hassan said. “It is a politically intended protest to destabilise the country. This protest is against the judiciary, and I was very disappointed seeing Mr. Roy Joko, who is a lawyer to Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, at that rally. As a lawyer, you are not meant to raise such intentions against a sitting court in an ongoing matter.”
Hassan accused Sowore of exploiting the agitation for Kanu’s release to revive his political relevance and provoke a constitutional crisis.
“This was a total plot that was premeditated, well-orchestrated and well-funded,” he said. “Sowore himself was aware there was a court order restricting certain areas in Abuja, yet he deliberately violated every inch of that order.”
He said his coalition believed the protest was designed to provoke violence and ethnic tension, using the Southeast as a tool.
“This is a plot to mislead the Igbo people,” Hassan said. “The Igbo are our brothers. Nobody should use them as cannon fodder to mislead them into something they have no intention of being part of. Democracy is for all of us, but this is not a protest — it is a plot to cause war.”
The human rights activist alleged that opposition elements were backing the protest to undermine President Bola Tinubu’s administration and destabilise the state.
“Looking at the entire protest today validates our fears,” he said. “Atiku Abubakar equally solidarised, and it shows that these are the hands of Esau that are really against the state. The Nigerian state cannot afford another civil war.”
Hassan said his organisation would submit evidence of the alleged plot to the appropriate security agencies for investigation.
“We are going to ensure that the law takes its course,” he stated. “The DSS, the NSCDC, and the IGP must look into this. We need to have a lawful society.”
Questioning Sowore’s repeated use of public protests, Hassan argued that activism should not become a permanent tool for agitation.
“Must it always be protest?” he asked. “Are you born to be a protester? Can’t you have another means of engaging government — through dialogue, research papers, or the National Assembly? Sowore has always been on the heels of creating trouble under the guise of activism.”
He condemned any attempt to intimidate the judiciary through public demonstrations while a case was still before the court.
“Let Nnamdi Kanu face the judicial process,” he said. “You cannot intimidate the judiciary. I am a lawyer, and I say this with all sense of responsibility — no one has the right to threaten the courts.”
Hassan maintained that President Tinubu’s administration had shown democratic tolerance by allowing dissenting voices but cautioned that no one should take such tolerance for weakness.
“The President is a democrat,” he said. “If he were authoritarian as people fear, many of those protesters would not have even seen the light of day to do what they did. But the fact remains that this protest was illegal, because the person on whose behalf they were protesting, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, gave orders that led to the killing of innocent people.”
“We are all aware of when the husband of Dora Akunyili was shot dead, when priests and clergy were killed under his sit-at-home order,” he continued. “This is not about sentiment — it’s about law and order. Nobody should intimidate the judiciary.”
Hassan urged Nigerians to support the rule of law and allow the judicial process to run its course rather than resorting to street protests.
“Let justice be manifestly seen to be done,” he said. “Let them open their case, push their evidence, and allow the courts to decide. But nobody should take to the streets to provoke the security forces or lead the country into war.”
He insisted that Monday’s protest route violated a valid court order.
“They went through Shehu Shagari Way and Transcorp, areas clearly restricted by the court,” he said. “That action was premeditated and intended to provoke law enforcement. We all must safeguard our democracy, not drag the country into chaos.”
Boluwatife Enome
