Sowore regains freedom after four-day detention, alleges police impunity

Human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, was on Sunday released from detention after spending four days in police custody.

Sowore, who announced his release in a post on X, accused the police of unlawfully detaining him without a valid court order.

“Leaving Kuje Prison in Abuja after being detained there illegally for four days by the official ABAT and illegal IGP, Kayode Egbetokun,” he wrote.

In a live broadcast on his Facebook page shortly after his release, the activist described his ordeal as another instance of what he termed a recurring pattern of abuse of power by security agencies.

He faulted the police for allegedly acting outside the law and assuming judicial powers. According to him, the duty of enforcing court orders lies with the courts and not the police.

“They can’t warn me about my right. If the court gives an order and there’s a contravention of that order, you go back to the same court and make your complaint. It is not the job of the police to take it upon themselves and enforce it,” he said.

The activist, who claimed he was scheduled to be in Lagos for a planned protest, vowed not to be deterred, insisting that security agencies cannot stop citizens from exercising their constitutional rights.

Sowore also criticised Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, describing his continued stay in office as “illegal” and accusing President Tinubu of failing to act.

Also narrating his experience, human rights lawyer and counsel to detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, who was arrested alongside Sowore, described the arrest as brutal and traumatic.

Ejimakor said security personnel used teargas and force despite the detainees being unarmed and compliant, calling the action “executive recklessness” that has no place in a democracy.

He clarified that the protest that led to their arrest was directed at the presidency and the Attorney-General’s office over the continued detention and prosecution of Kanu, not at the courts.

“The protest was directed against the presidency and not the judiciary,” he said, insisting that the executive has the power to discontinue the case.

He called on the Federal Government to end what he described as the unlawful prosecution of Kanu, whom he said was a victim of political repression.