Police Re-Arrest Sowore Moments After Bail, Drag Him Into Van Outside Kuje Court

Police Re-Arrest Sowore Moments After Bail, Drag Him Into Van Outside Kuje Court

Eyewitnesses allege officers assaulted the activist despite court order granting him bail.

Chaos broke out on Friday outside the Kuje Magistrate Court in Abuja after police officers reportedly punched and re-arrested human rights activist Omoyele Sowore, moments after the court granted him and 13 others bail.

Witnesses said the officers, led by CSP Ilyasu Barau, attached to the Anti-Vice Unit under the FCT Criminal Investigation Department, forcefully dragged Sowore into a waiting police van. The incident occurred while his legal team was still processing his bail conditions.

Read also: Activist apprehended after appearing in solidarity with Nnamdi Kanu.

“The IPO punched him, dragged him on the ground, and pushed him violently into the van. They really manhandled him,” an eyewitness said.

Police officers allegedly cited a “secret remand order” as justification for the re-arrest but refused to show any supporting documents when confronted by Sowore’s lawyers. Reports also indicate that several lawyers were attacked in the scuffle.

Earlier, Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’I’d had granted bail to Sowore and other defendants detained over the recent #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in Abuja. The court set the bail at ₦500,000 each, with conditions including verified National Identification Numbers, three-year tax clearance certificates, and the surrender of their passports.

Sowore’s arrest has sparked widespread outrage among civil society groups and activists, who describe it as yet another assault on civil liberties and judicial integrity in Nigeria.