By Kingston Magare 24.10.2025
Human rights activist and politician Omoleye Sowore was Friday seized by policemen shortly after he was granted bail by a Kuje Magistrate Court in Abuja.
Sowore, Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer Aloy Ejimakor, his brother Emmanuel Kanu and 12 others were arraigned by the police on breach of peace charges, following the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in Abuja and several other Nigerian cities. The police prosecuting team accused the defendants of allegedly obstructed the movement of other citizens, disrupted the free flow of traffic, and chanted war songs while demanding Kanu’s release, in a manner said to threaten national security.
The accused all pleaded not guilty…the court granted them bail in the sum of N500,000 each with two sureties in like sum.
But once Sowore was outside the court, the police jumped on him and bundled him into a waiting van. The officers were led by the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) in charge of the case, identified as CSP Ilyasu Barau, OC Anti-Vice, under DC-CID, FCT Command.
“The IPO punched him, dragged him on the ground, and pushed him violently into the van. They really manhandled him,” one eyewitness said.
“When we demanded to see the remand order they claimed to have obtained from the court, the officer refused to produce any document.
“Police forcefully took Sowore to prison despite the bail granted to him. They cited a secret remand order,” a witness to the fracas.
Sowore scuffling with the police in Abuja.