Abuja – Human rights activist and SaharaReporters publisher Omoyele Sowore was reportedly assaulted and re-arrested by police officers outside the Kuje Magistrates’ Court on Friday — just moments after being granted bail.
Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred shortly after Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’id approved bail for Sowore and 13 others who were detained over the recent #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in Abuja.
As Sowore’s legal team was finalising his bail conditions, police operatives led by CSP Ilyasu Barau, Officer in Charge of Anti-Vice under the FCT Command, allegedly pounced on him, punched him, and forced him into a waiting van.
“He resisted, asking for an explanation, but the officers dragged him on the ground and shoved him into the vehicle,” an eyewitness said.
Another source claimed that when bystanders demanded to see the remand order cited by the police, the officers refused to produce any document. They reportedly took Sowore to Kuje Prison, claiming a ‘secret remand order’ had been issued.
Earlier in the day, Sowore and 13 others — including Aloy Ejimakor, lawyer to detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, and Prince Emmanuel Kanu, his brother — were granted bail of ₦500,000 each after being charged with unlawful assembly and disturbing public peace.
The re-arrest has sparked outrage among civil rights groups and supporters, who describe it as a blatant disregard for judicial authority and another attempt to intimidate dissenting voices.