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There was tension at the Kuje Magistrate Court in Abuja on Friday as police officers reportedly re-arrested human rights activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, moments after he was granted bail.
Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred shortly after Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’id granted bail to Sowore and 13 others who were arraigned on charges of unlawful assembly and disturbance of public peace following their participation in the recent #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in the Federal Capital Territory.
According to witnesses, chaos erupted outside the courtroom when policemen, led by CSP Ilyasu Barau, Officer-in-Charge of the Anti-Vice Unit under the FCT Command’s Criminal Investigation Department, pounced on Sowore as his legal team was perfecting the bail conditions.
The officers, witnesses alleged, claimed to be acting on a remand order purportedly authorising Sowore’s transfer to Kuje Correctional Centre, though no official document was shown to confirm the claim.
The development sparked outrage among lawyers and supporters present, who accused the police of disobeying a valid court order and acting in contempt of judicial authority. Some members of the defence team were reportedly assaulted in the scuffle.
Earlier, the court had granted Sowore and the 13 others bail in the sum of ₦500,000 each, with conditions that include the presentation of a National Identification Number (NIN), a three-year tax clearance certificate, and the submission of their passports.
The re-arrest comes barely 24 hours after Sowore was initially detained at the Federal High Court, Abuja, shortly after attending the trial of the detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu — an incident that drew nationwide condemnation, including from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and several civil society groups.
Atiku, in a statement on Thursday, described Sowore’s arrest as “a new low” and “an open assault on democracy,” urging the Federal Government to stop harassing dissenting voices.
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