Activist and publisher Omoyele Sowore was arrested by armed police officers on Thursday within the premises of the Federal High Court in Abuja. The arrest occurred shortly after Sowore appeared in solidarity with Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Sowore, who has been at the forefront of calls for Kanu’s release, was approached by security operatives who insisted he accompany them to the Federal Capital Territory Police Command.
When Sowore asked what his offence was, an officer stated they were “acting on the instruction of the Commissioner of Police.” Despite querying the absence of a formal letter of invitation, Sowore insisted his lawyer must accompany him before he was eventually taken away in a police van.
Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong confirmed the arrest in a post on X (formerly Twitter), describing the move as “preposterous.”
“The arrest of Omoyele Sowore at the Federal High Court in Abuja moments ago is preposterous,” Effiong wrote. “The police and the Tinubu regime are making a mockery of our judicial system. He should be freed immediately. Stop the shenanigans.”
Sowore’s arrest follows his participation in a #FreeNnamdiKanu protest in Abuja on Monday, October 20.
During that protest, 12 individuals—including Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, and his brother, Emmanuel Kanu—were arrested and subsequently remanded at Kuje Prison.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed before a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Kuje, the 12 defendants were accused of holding the protest in defiance of a court order. The police alleged they “chanted war songs,” disrupted the free flow of traffic, and engaged in “criminal conspiracy, incited disturbance, and caused a breach of public peace.”
The court has fixed Friday for those 12 defendants to take their plea on the charges.
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