The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the Nigerian Police Force to immediately drop all charges and unconditionally release journalist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, who was reportedly detained on Thursday.
In a statement issued on Thursday, SERAP described Sowore’s continued detention as unlawful, insisting it violates Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution and several international human rights treaties to which the country is a signatory.
“The Nigerian police must end the persecution of Sowore solely for the peaceful exercise of his human rights,” the organisation said.
The group warned that detaining Sowore for expressing his views amounts to arbitrary imprisonment, citing Nigeria’s obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“These legally binding human rights treaties and the Constitution unequivocally prohibit arbitrary detention. No one should be arrested or detained simply for peacefully exercising their constitutionally and internationally recognized rights, including freedom of expression,” SERAP stated.
It urged authorities to respect the rule of law and stop what it called a dangerous pattern of repressing peaceful dissent in the country.
“Continued clampdown on activists and journalists like Sowore undermines democracy and weakens civil liberties,” the statement added.
Sowore, a fierce critic of successive governments and publisher of Sahara Reporters, has faced multiple arrests over the years linked to his campaigns for transparency, accountability, and political reform.
SERAP reaffirmed its commitment to standing against injustice and called on the Nigerian government to demonstrate respect for democratic values by ordering his immediate release.
