The Nigeria Police Force has justified the transfer of human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, to Kuje Prison, which took place shortly after he was granted bail by the Kuje Magistrate Court in Abuja on Friday.
Sowore was initially taken into custody by the police on Thursday over allegations of incitement and an alleged breach of public peace.
His arrest came after he led the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest on Monday, despite warnings from the authorities.
He was arraigned alongside 12 others before the Kuje Magistrate Court on Friday, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The court subsequently granted him bail set at N500,000 with two sureties, a process his legal team was actively working to perfect when police intervened.
Addressing journalists after the incident, human rights activist Deji Adeyanju accused the police of violently removing Sowore immediately after bail was granted.
“Sowore had just been granted bail, and while we were conferring with him here, the police suddenly launched an attack. More than 50 officers violently descended on him and took him away by force. We don’t even know where they have taken him,” Adeyanju alleged.
He further claimed that the officer leading the operation briefly displayed what he said was a remand order but refused to let Sowore’s lawyers inspect it.
“The officer flashed the document, and when we insisted on reviewing it, he pocketed it and ordered that they must go. When we asked where they were taking him, he said Kuje Prison. We demanded to see the remand order as endorsed by the court, but he refused,” Adeyanju said.
The activist also alleged that during the scuffle, police accused Sowore of insulting the Inspector General of Police. “Because Sowore called the IG useless, they must deal with him,” he added.
Adeyanju noted that the officers tore Sowore’s shirt in the process and dragged him away while his legal team was still finalizing the bail conditions.
Responding to Sowore’s re-arrest via X, the Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, insisted the police acted within the law, adding that officers are empowered to use proportionate force to carry out their duties.
“Except we want to be mischievous, we all know that once court grants a suspect bail, it comes with the caveat that until the bail conditions are met, the suspect remains in custody.
“Where it is clearly spelt out on the remand warrant that the suspect be remanded in a correctional facility, not police custody, it is the duty of the police to hand over the suspect to the Nigeria Correctional Service, who would then process his bail conditions.
“This has always been the practice. Why should this be different? Also, as law enforcement officers, we are empowered by law to employ commensurate force to get our mandate achieved,” Hundeyin wrote.
