Human rights activist and 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, was on Friday night released by the police after spending over 48 hours in detention at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
Sowore was detained on Wednesday after honouring an invitation by the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
The police had said they were investigating the activist based on two petitions bordering on alleged forgery of police documents and cyber bullying.
However, in a statement on Thursday, Sowore’s counsel, Tope Temokun, accused the police of subjecting his client to inhumane treatment while in custody.
Temokun alleged that the activist was moved from police custody to an undisclosed location in the early hours of Thursday under circumstances that resulted in physical injury.
However, in a Facebook post on Friday night, Sowore, said he had been released, describing his detention as “illegal and unjust.”
“The Nigeria Police Force has capitulated to the demands of the revolutionary movement. I have been released from unjust, illegal and unwarranted detention.
“However, it is nothing to celebrate, but thank you for not giving up!” he wrote.
While addressing a team of journalist at the police detention facility earlier on Friday, Sowore questioned the basis of his arrest and detention.
“There is no basis for my arrest in the first place. There is no basis for any citizen in Nigeria to be arrested by the IGP because the IGP feels threatened by the legality of opposition,” Sowore said in a live stream shared by Sahara Reporters on Facebook.
The activist accused the police of using the media to mislead the masses about his current condition, adding that contrary to the impression that he was doing fine in custody, his hand had been broken.
Sowore, who had a bandage on one of his hands, said, “I have been expecting this nonsense from them since I was brought here yesterday morning by 6am. They came here and I know that the next thing they would do is to try and bring the press to create the impression that I’m doing fine. I just want you to know that all these are unnecessary.
“What should have been done (by the police) is to swallow their pride, release me from detention, apologise to me and ensure that I can go for proper treatment, but they want to hide it.
“Since I came here yesterday, they broke my hand, they have not been able to bring a doctor, they brought a nurse. Instead of bringing the doctor, they went and brought the media. I was expecting it.”
Findings by Saturday PUNCH showed that the activist’s continued detention has sparked widespread condemnation since Wednesday.
On Thursday, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project described Sowore’s detention as a violation of the 1999 Constitution
In a statement posted on its verified X (Formerly Twitter handle), SERAP said the police’s action also violated the country’s international human rights obligations, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.
Calling for an urgent end to what it described as “persecution”, SERAP said, “The Nigerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Omoyele Sowore who is reportedly detained today by the Nigerian police. Authorities must drop all charges against him.”
It argued that the constitution and all other related laws legally binding human rights treaties prohibited arbitrary detention of any person under any questionable circumstance.
“No one should ever be arrested or detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their constitutionally and internationally recognized human rights including the right to freedom of expression.
“The authorities must immediately release Sowore, end this travesty of justice and uphold the human rights of everyone in the country,” SERAP stated.
Similarly, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also condemned Sowore’s detention, describing it as a “shameful abuse of power.”
Atiku, in a statement posted on his Facebook handle on Thursday, said Sowore’s only offence was speaking out against “injustice, nepotism, and misrule”.
He added that the reported actions of the police amounted to a personal vendetta rather than lawful policing.
The Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, also kicked against the activist’s detention, describing it as “a miscarriage of justice and an abuse of state power.”
In a statement shared on Thursday, Obi said Sowore’s arrest, “particularly under circumstances where he presented himself in good faith to law enforcement, should be condemned by all who value justice and due process”.
Also, prominent human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, faulted Sowore’s treatment in custody, describing it as a violation of constitutional rights and demanded an immediate investigation into the alleged abuse.
“As Mr. Omoyele Sowore is not above the law, the Nigeria Police Force has the power to arrest him and arraign him in a competent court if there is reasonable suspicion that he has committed a criminal offence.
“However, like every suspect in police custody, he is entitled to the fundamental right to the dignity of his person guaranteed by Section 34 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
“To that extent, he is entitled to humane treatment in the custody of the police,” he said.
Falana insisted that officers who allegedly tortured Sowore must be held accountable under the Anti-Torture Act of 2017.
“We are compelled to demand the investigation of the officers who subjected Mr. Omoyele Sowore to torture in contravention of section 2 of the Anti-Torture Act of 2017.
“Meanwhile, Mr. Sowore should be released from further police custody to enable him to receive urgent medical treatment,” he added.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that Sowore’s supporters staged protests in Lagos, Abuja, Oyo and Osun states on Friday to demand his release.
But the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Special Intervention Squad, Abayomi Shogunle, told the protesters that Sowore was being detained following his alleged refusal to make a statement.
