Counsel to the detained human rights activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, have raised an alarm over the activist’s life, saying he is in danger following the alleged release of noxious gas into the cell where the Nigerian police are detaining him.
Lead lawyer, Tope Temokun, in a statement on Thursday, said Mr Sowore had been moved to an underground cell after he was physically brutalised in the early hours of Thursday in a bid to force him to an unknown destination forcibly.
Mr Sowore was detained on Wednesday after honouring an invitation from the Inspector General of Police Monitoring Unit at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
Although he was invited over alleged forgery and criminal defamation, the police have yet to disclose the details of the allegations despite the activist’s request before honouring the invitation.
“After honouring the invitation, Sowore was detained overnight, and in the early hours of this morning, he was forcibly moved to an unknown God-knows-where, with such violent handling that it dislocated and severely injured his right arm.
“As if physical injury was not enough, it was gathered in this calculated attack on his life what is believed to be noxious gas was reportedly released into the cell where he was being held and the information reaching us now is that he has been moved to an underground cell,” Mr Temokun said.
The lawyer said the unfolding events are not accidents or negligence but vivid attempts to destroy Mr Sowore’s health, life, and dignity.
“Let it be clear: these are not accidents, nor negligence, or incompetence—this playing out events are vivid attempts on his health, his life, and his dignity,” he said.
Mr Temokun said it is now public knowledge that the only “crime” of Mr Sowore, a former presidential candidate, is that he continues to hold government accountable and speaks the truth to power, especially regarding IGP Kayode Egbetokun’s prolonged stay in office after exceeding the retirement age.
Meanwhile, a former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has strongly condemned the reported arrest and brutal treatment of activist and publisher, Omoyele Sowore, by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Team, describing it as a “shameful abuse of power.”
Atiku, in a statement posted on his Facebook and X handles on Thursday, said Sowore’s only offence was speaking out against “injustice, nepotism, and misrule,” adding that the reported actions of the police amounted to a personal vendetta rather than lawful policing.
Sowore was detained on Wednesday after honouring an invitation by the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit.
Reacting, Atiku described the police action as an abuse of power.
“This is not policing; it is persecution. The IGP cannot be both a complainant and the force behind the arrest,” Atiku said in a statement.
Citing the Nigeria Police Regulation 367, Atiku reminded the authorities that “no police officer shall institute any legal proceeding in his own personal interest or in connection with matters arising out of his public duties.”
He described the incident as “an attack on every Nigerian who dares to speak truth to power,” and demanded Sowore’s immediate and unconditional release.
“This must stop,” Atiku stated. Premium Times/Punch