Operatives of the Nigerian police have allegedly assaulted and re-arrested human rights activist Omoyele Sowore outside the Kuje Magistrate Court, forcing him into a waiting vehicle shortly after he was granted bail.
Eyewitnesses at the court said the incident occurred moments after the magistrate approved bail for Sowore and 13 others.
According to Sahara Reporters, while his lawyers were working to finalize the bail conditions, police officers led by the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), CSP Ilyasu Barau, Officer in Charge of Anti-Vice under the DC-CID, FCT Command, punched Sowore and shoved him into a police van.
An eyewitness reported that the former ADC presidential candidate resisted as officers attempted to take him away without providing any explanation.
“The IPO punched him, dragged him on the ground, and forced him into the van. They really manhandled him,” an eyewitness said.
Another source added, “When we asked to see the remand order they claimed to have obtained, the officer refused to show any document. The police took Sowore away to Kuje Prison despite his bail, citing a secret remand order.”
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The court, presided over by Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’id, had earlier granted bail to Sowore and 13 others arrested during the recent #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in Abuja.
Sowore had recently organized the protest demanding the release of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who remains in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
IPOB is a separatist group seeking to restore the defunct Republic of Biafra, which seceded from Nigeria in 1967 before being dissolved following its defeat in 1970.
