There was a scene of confusion and outrage at the Kuje Magistrate Court on Friday after human rights activist and convener of the #RevolutionNow movement, Omoyele Sowore, was reportedly rearrested by police officers shortly after being granted bail.
According to a press statement issued by his lawyer, Tope Temokun, and obtained by our correspondent, the incident happened within the court premises shortly after the magistrate had approved Sowore’s bail on liberal terms.
Temokun described the police action as “a shameful and lawless display of impunity,” alleging that the officers, led by CSP Iliyasu, Officer-in-Charge of Anti-Vice, State Command CID, invaded the court and violently whisked Sowore away.
He said, “After the court had freely and honorably granted bail to human rights defender Omoyele Sowore, a detachment of police officers, led by CSP Iliyasu, invaded the court premises in a display of raw impunity and disdain for the rule of law.”
Temokun further revealed that he and others present at the court were assaulted while trying to resist the unlawful arrest. “In the course of standing up against this brazen illegality, I and others were physically assaulted. I sustained injuries and my bib was blood-stained in the chaos that ensued,” he added.
The lawyer lamented that Sowore was not taken to prison, as required by law, but rather whisked away to an unknown destination. “Let it be known that Sowore was not taken to prison for any legal justification. Instead, the police spirited him away to an unknown destination, a clear and direct affront to the authority of the court,” Temokun stated.
Describing the incident as an open attack on the judiciary, he said the magistrate had displayed courage in granting Sowore bail despite police resistance. “The magistrate displayed courage despite stiff opposition from the police to frustrate bail. That was what irked them. What we saw after was not law or anything close to legality, it’s police and executive brigandage,” he said.
Temokun, who described the incident as a “dark and painful moment for justice and democracy in Nigeria,” called on Nigerians to recognize the double standards of the authorities. “To our fellow countrymen who once fell for the propaganda of enforcing court orders, let this incident serve as an awakening,” he stated.
He urged the Attorney General of the Federation, the National Human Rights Commission, and all lovers of justice to speak out and demand respect for the court’s order. “We call upon the Attorney General of the Federation, the National Human Rights Commission, and all well-meaning Nigerians to condemn this reckless desecration of our judicial institution,” Temokun added.
The statement concluded with a demand for immediate compliance with the court order granting Sowore bail. “We demand deference to the order of court granting bail,” he emphasized.
As of press time, the police had not issued an official statement on the incident, and Sowore’s whereabouts remain unknown.
