PHOTOS: Roads deserted as #FreeNnamdiKanu protest grounds Abuja

Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, wore an eerie look on Monday morning as security operatives took over major roads to suppress a protest.

The demonstrators are demanding the release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The federal secretariat, the road leading to the national assembly, and the Central Business District — usually a beehive of activity — have been deserted.

Security checkpoints dot the city centre, with armed officers and patrol vans stationed at key intersections.

Commuters who ventured out were greeted with a fusillade of teargas fired by heavily armed security operatives.

The protest is organised by Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters and a former presidential candidate.

Sowore had promised to take the protest to Aso Rock, the nation’s seat of power; and the national assembly — with the police warning that the move was going to be resisted.

Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since his re-arrest in June 2021.

See photos of a forlorn federal capital territory (FCT) today.