There was mild drama at the Magistrate Court in Kuje, Abuja, on Friday when police officers whisked away Omoyele Sowore, the human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, moments after he was granted bail.
Sowore, along with 12 others including Aloy Ejimakor, a former counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, was granted bail by Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’id. Each defendant was asked to produce two sureties and pay a sum of ₦500,000. They were also required to submit a verified National Identification Number, a three-year tax clearance certificate, and their passports.
However, shortly after the court ruling, policemen reportedly manhandled Sowore and forced him into a van. Witnesses described the scene as chaotic.
Tope Temokun, Sowore’s lawyer, accused the police of acting unlawfully, claiming that they “descended violently” on his client in a show of “impunity and disregard for the rule of law.”
Temokun said he was also assaulted while attempting to intervene, sustaining injuries in the process. He stressed that Sowore was not taken to prison but to an undisclosed location.
The activist had been arrested on Thursday for leading a #FreeNnamdiKanu protest to what authorities described as “restricted areas” in Abuja.
The incident has sparked outrage among civil rights advocates, who view it as another attempt to silence dissenting voices.
