Supporters Vow Nationwide Protest as Police Detain Sowore

Supporters of Omoyele Sowore, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), have vowed to mobilise for a nationwide protest following his reported arrest and detention by the Nigeria Police Force.

Sowore was detained on Wednesday at the Force Headquarters in Abuja after honouring a police summons issued by the Inspector General of Police Monitoring Unit. He is currently under investigation over allegations of forgery and inciting public disturbance.

Sources told NEWS BULLETIN that before his appearance at the facility, the police had secured a court order authorising his detention. Sowore arrived at the Force Headquarters with several activists and supporters.

Reacting to the development, the Take It Back Movement (TIB), a civil society organisation aligned with Sowore’s political cause, issued a strongly worded statement late Wednesday, threatening mass mobilisation.

The statement, signed by Juwon Sanyaolu, National Coordinator of the movement, described Sowore’s detention as “politically motivated,” alleging that the police refused to disclose the substance of the petition against him and the identity of the petitioner.

Sanyaolu stated, “Accordingly, the Nigerian people, students, workers, the public, and the entire membership are hereby put on notice for a nationwide protest against the continuous harassment of Sowore, and unlawful use of state institutions to suppress dissent.”

The group maintained that it would not tolerate what it described as “the weaponisation of law enforcement against voices of resistance and accountability.”