Human rights groups and civil society movements have intensified calls for the immediate release of detained activist and journa...
Human rights groups and civil society movements have intensified calls for the immediate release of detained activist and journalist Omoyele Sowore, as outrage grows over what critics describe as his continued persecution by the Nigerian authorities.
Leading global rights watchdog Amnesty International and the Take It Back Movement (TIB) have both issued strongly worded statements condemning Sowore’s latest detention by the Nigeria Police, describing it as politically motivated, unlawful, and a violation of his fundamental human rights.
Amnesty International reiterated its long-standing stance that Sowore is being targeted for his peaceful activism and outspoken criticism of the Nigerian government.
“The Nigerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Sowore and drop all bogus and politically motivated charges against him,” Amnesty said in a statement dated August 6. “Apart from putting him through sham trials, Sowore has been subjected to a series of human rights violations.”
The organisation further urged Nigerian authorities to allow the activist to exercise his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, noting that since 2019, Sowore has faced arbitrary detentions, harassment, and unfair trials. It recalled declaring him a Prisoner of Conscience in 2019 after his arrest during the #RevolutionNow protests.
“The case of Sowore shows just how far the authorities in Nigeria can go to silence peaceful dissent,” Amnesty added.
Meanwhile, the Take It Back Movement, which Sowore founded, announced plans for nationwide protests, including the blockade of police commands across the country.
In a separate press statement signed by its National Coordinator, Sanyaolu Juwon, the group condemned what it described as the “continued harassment, intimidation, and unlawful detention” of its convener by the Nigeria Police Force under the directive of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
According to TIB, Sowore was detained based on a “baseless petition” and was denied access to both the petition itself and the identity of the petitioner upon honouring an invitation from the IGP Monitoring Unit.
“In clear violation of due process, the police denied him access to the petition and identity of the petitioner, both of which are fundamental rights under the law,” the statement read. “We later discovered that the petitioner is the illegal police IG himself, Egbetokun.”
TIB described the arrest as a blatant abuse of power and “reckless waste of taxpayers’ money,” and called on Nigerians—students, workers, and civil society—to mobilise against the state’s use of security forces to suppress dissent.
“The Nigerian people, students, workers, the public, and the entire membership is hereby put on notice for a nationwide protest,” Juwon stated.
As of press time, neither the Nigeria Police Force nor the office of the Inspector General had issued a public response to the allegations or confirmed the legal basis for Sowore’s detention.
Sowore, a former presidential candidate and publisher of Sahara Reporters, has been repeatedly arrested since 2019 and remains a prominent critic of the Nigerian government.
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