A Former presidential candidate of The Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has strongly condemned the reported arrest and brutal treatment of activist and publisher, Omoyele Sowore, by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Team, describing it as a “shameful abuse of power.”
Atiku, in a statement posted on his Facebook handle on Thursday, said Sowore’s only offence was speaking out against “injustice, nepotism, and misrule,” adding that the reported actions of the police amounted to a personal vendetta rather than lawful policing.
The activist’s counsel, Tope Temokun, had earlier accused the Nigeria Police Force of subjecting his client to inhumane treatment while in custody.
Sowore was detained on Wednesday after honouring an invitation by the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit.
In a statement on Thursday, Temokun alleged that the activist was moved from police custody to an undisclosed location in the early hours of Thursday under circumstances that resulted in physical injury.
“This is not policing; it is persecution. The IGP cannot be both a complainant and the force behind the arrest,” Atiku said in a statement.
Citing the Nigeria Police Regulation 367, Atiku reminded the authorities that “no police officer shall institute any legal proceeding in his own personal interest or in connection with matters arising out of his public duties.”
He described the incident as “an attack on every Nigerian who dares to speak truth to power,” and demanded Sowore’s immediate and unconditional release.
“This must stop,” Atiku stated.
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