A provocative video circulated on social media on October 20, 2025 appears to show trucks bearing the Dangote Group logo parked across major highways near Lokoja, effectively blocking protesters en route to Abuja for the planned #FreeNnamdiKanuNow demonstration. According to reports, hundreds of travellers and would-be protesters were stranded when the convoy of large trailers was positioned across the Lokoja-Abuja corridor.
The protest, organised by activist Omoyele Sowore, was scheduled to begin in Abuja to demand the release of IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who remains in detention. Authorities in the Federal Capital Territory deployed security forces, used teargas, and blocked roads — but the appearance of private logistics assets in what seemed like a coordinated manoeuvre raised fresh questions.
Corporate insiders contacted by this publication said they were unaware of any official deployment of Dangote-Group vehicles for protest control. Meanwhile, political commentators believe the incident reveals a worrying convergence of business logistics and political crowd-management. If the trucks were deliberately deployed, this could amount to obstruction of assembly and movement, a core democratic right.
Legal experts warn that if the trucks were used by or at the behest of state agents without legal basis, they could face liability. On the other hand, some argue the trucks may simply have been parked for commercial reasons and mis-interpreted as part of protest control. The lack of transparent explanation fuels suspicion.
Moving forward, demands are growing for the Dangote Group to clarify the matter publicly and for the FCT police or judiciary to investigate any abuse of power in protest suppression. Civil society groups say the incident underlines the deepening risks of mixing corporate assets with political enforcement in Nigeria.