Nigeria police fire tear gas and arrest dozens as protesters demand release of separatist leader

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ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Demonstrations for the release of a separatist leader in Nigeria’s capital city turned violent on Monday as police fired tear gas and arrested dozens of protesters, as well as a journalist with French news agency Agence France-Presse, or AFP, who was released shortly afterwards.

Witnesses and journalists also reported hearing gunshots amid pockets of clashes between the protesters and security forces in the capital, Abuja.

Dozens of protesters spread across different parts of the city were calling on authorities to release Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra separatist group that seeks independence for Nigeria’s southeastern region.

In the central part of Abuja and along major roads, police used tear gas, water cannons and electric barriers to disperse the protests, according to witnesses and videos from the scene.

The protests and the deployment of security forces along major roads disrupted traffic and left some commuters stranded.

Kanu’s case has been a major flashpoint in the secessionist agitations in southeast Nigeria, where the Igbo ethnic group allege marginalization by the Nigerian government.

Kanu, who holds British citizenship, has been in and out of detention since 2015, when he was first arrested and charged with terrorism and treason. A Nigerian court recently ordered him to face trial after striking out his request to be freed on the basis that the Nigerian government has no case to prove against him.

Aloy Ejimakor, one of Kanu’s lawyers, said on X that he is among those arrested.

The AFP reporter was released after his arrest, his office in Abuja said, but his equipment was destroyed during the altercation. “There were no protesters at the scene where he was arrested,” AFP said.