BREAKING: Police Assault and Re-Arrest Sowore Outside Kuje Court Despite Bail Grant

Chaos broke out on Friday outside the Kuje Magistrate Court in Abuja when police officers punched and forcefully dragged human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore into a waiting vehicle, despite the court having granted him bail.

Eyewitnesses said the incident happened shortly after the magistrate approved bail for Sowore and 13 others. As his legal team worked to perfect the bail conditions, police officers, led by the Investigating Police Officer in charge of the case, identified as CSP Ilyasu Barau, OC Anti-Vice under the DC-CID, FCT Command, pounced on him and pushed him into a waiting van.

Witnesses said Sowore was assaulted after questioning the officers’ attempt to take him away without explanation. “The IPO punched him, dragged him to the ground, and pushed him violently into the van. They really manhandled him,” one witness said.

“When we demanded to see the remand order they claimed to have obtained from the court, the officer refused to show any document. Police forcefully took Sowore to prison despite the bail granted to him. They cited a secret remand order,” another witness added.

It was learnt that the officers also attacked lawyers who attempted to intervene, insisting that they were acting on a remand order authorising Sowore’s transfer to Kuje Correctional Centre. Witnesses, however, accused the police of defying the court’s ruling and attempting to detain him under questionable circumstances.

“Meanwhile, the magistrate granted bail, and there was no mention of any remand order,” one eyewitness said.

Earlier on Friday, the court had granted bail to Sowore and others detained over the recent #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in the Federal Capital Territory. Others granted bail include Aloy Ejimakor, counsel to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu; his brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu; and 11 others.

Presided over by Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’id, the court ordered bail for ₦500,000 each, requiring the defendants to present a verified National Identification Number, a three-year tax clearance certificate, and to submit their passports.

Sowore had been arrested on Thursday by police operatives after leaving the Federal High Court in Abuja, an incident captured on video and circulated widely online. His arrest sparked outrage among civil society organisations and human rights groups, who described it as another attempt to silence activism and suppress dissent.

Sowore, a pro-democracy campaigner and former presidential candidate, has long been a vocal critic of the Nigerian government. His repeated arrests and alleged harassment by security agencies have continued to draw condemnation from rights groups and international observers demanding respect for judicial processes and fundamental freedoms.