Human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, was on Thursday arrested by armed police operatives at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Sowore had visited the court to show solidarity with the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, whose trial resumed that day.
Eyewitnesses said the activist was surrounded and taken away by policemen who insisted that he must report to the Federal Capital Territory Police Command.
When questioned about the reason for the arrest, one of the officers reportedly said they were acting on the instructions of the Commissioner of Police.
“The Commissioner of Police said we should bring you to the office,” the officer told Sowore before he was taken away in a police van.
The activist protested the arrest, questioning why there was no official letter of invitation. He, however, agreed to go with the police on the condition that his lawyer would accompany him.
Confirming the incident on X (formerly Twitter), human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong described Sowore’s arrest as unjustified.
*The arrest of Omoyele Sowore at the Federal High Court in Abuja moments ago is preposterous. The police and the Tinubu regime are making a mockery of our judicial system. He should be freed immediately. Stop the shenanigans,” Effiong wrote.
Sowore has been at the forefront of the campaign demanding Kanu’s release. On October 20, 2025, he led a protest in Abuja tagged #FreeNnamdiKanu, during which Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, his brother Emmanuel Kanu, and ten other protesters were arrested and remanded in Kuje Prison.
In a First Information Report filed at a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Kuje, the police accused the protesters of criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance, and causing a breach of public peace — offences said to contravene Sections 152, 114, and 113 of the Penal Code.
The court has scheduled Friday for the defendants to take their plea.
