Tension erupted on Friday at the Magistrate Court in Kuje, Abuja, after police officers forcefully took away human rights activist and publisher, Omoyele Sowore, shortly after he was granted bail.
Earlier, the court had approved bail for Sowore alongside Aloy Ejimakor, a former counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and several other defendants.
Those also granted bail include Emmanuel Kanu, Joshua Emmanuel, Wilson Anyalewechi, Okere Kingdom Nnamdi, Clinton Chimeneze, Gabriel Joshua, Isiaka Husseini, Onyekachi Ferdinand, Amadi Prince, Edison Ojisom, Godwill Obioma, and Chima Onuchukwu.
Sowore, who was arrested on Thursday after leaving the Federal High Court in Abuja, was accused of leading the #FreeNnamdiKanu protest to “restricted areas” in the city.
While ruling on the bail application, Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’id ordered Sowore and the other protesters to provide two sureties each in the sum of ₦500,000. The court also mandated them to present a verified National Identification Number (NIN), three-year tax clearance certificates, and valid international passports as part of the conditions.
Moments after the bail ruling, police operatives reportedly pounced on Sowore, rough-handled him, and dragged him into their van.
Reacting to the development, Sowore’s lawyer, Tope Temokun, condemned the officers’ actions, accusing them of impunity and contempt for judicial authority.
“After the court had freely and honorably granted bail to human rights defender Omoyele Sowore on liberal terms, a detachment of police officers, led by CSP Iliyasu, OC Anti Vice, State Command CID, invaded the court premises in a display of raw impunity and disdain for the rule of law,” Temokun said.
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“They descended violently upon Omoyele Sowore and those present and, in the full glare of the public, abducted Sowore and whisked him away.
“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.
“The officers, in a most unruly and undisciplined manner, rough-handled Sowore away and whisked him away. Let it be known that Sowore was not taken to prison.”
Temokun further argued that the police had no legal justification to take Sowore to an undisclosed location after the court had already granted him bail.