{"id":95490,"date":"2025-10-18T10:42:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T10:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=95490"},"modified":"2025-10-18T10:42:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T10:42:24","slug":"tension-mounts-in-abuja-as-us-embassy-issues-security-alert-ahead-of-freennamdikanunow-protest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=95490","title":{"rendered":"Tension mounts in Abuja as US Embassy issues security alert ahead of #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"205\" data-end=\"401\">With the clock ticking down to the explosive #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protests set to rock Nigeria\u2019s capital on Monday, October 20, the U.S. Embassy in Abuja has raised the alarm\u2014loud and clear.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"403\" data-end=\"645\">In a no-nonsense security alert posted Friday, the embassy warned American citizens to brace for serious disruptions\u2014and the real possibility of violence\u2014as demonstrators take to the streets, demanding the release of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"647\" data-end=\"872\">\u201cExpect roadblocks. Expect clashes. Expect chaos,\u201d the embassy implied in its stark advisory, urging U.S. nationals to stay far from the protest flashpoints, particularly around Eagle Square and the Central Business District.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"874\" data-end=\"1054\">\u201cThe Embassy advises all U.S. citizens to avoid this area and to severely limit all movement throughout the city,\u201d the statement read, painting a picture of a capital city on edge.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_92967\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-92967\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-92967\" src=\"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Kanu-1-300x162.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"162\" srcset=\"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Kanu-1-300x162.jpg 300w, https:\/\/everyday.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Kanu-1.jpg 650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-92967\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nnamdi Kanu (in white) sandwiched between security operatives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p data-start=\"1056\" data-end=\"1077\">It didn\u2019t stop there.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1079\" data-end=\"1278\">In an unusual move, the embassy recommended that children in Abuja skip school and that domestic workers who live outside the capital stay home on protest day. That\u2019s how serious they\u2019re taking this.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1280\" data-end=\"1526\">The upcoming protest is the brainchild of fiery activist and former presidential hopeful Omoyele Sowore, who took to X (formerly Twitter) on October 9 to announce what he called a <em data-start=\"1460\" data-end=\"1485\">\u201chistoric and peaceful\u201d<\/em> march straight to the gates of Aso Rock.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1528\" data-end=\"1818\">His demand? The immediate release of Nnamdi Kanu, the controversial head of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who\u2019s been locked up since June 2021 after his dramatic, disputed extradition from Kenya. Kanu is currently facing terrorism charges in Abuja&#8217;s Federal High Court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the clock ticking down to the explosive #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protests set to rock Nigeria\u2019s capital on Monday, October 20, the U.S. Embassy in Abuja has raised the alarm\u2014loud and clear. In a no-nonsense security alert posted Friday, the embassy warned American citizens to brace for serious disruptions\u2014and the real possibility of violence\u2014as demonstrators take to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":95014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[470,170,5212],"class_list":["post-95490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-kanu","tag-sowore","tag-us-embassy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/95014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}