National Telescope national telescope newspaper
By Daniel Ayantoye
The Nigeria Police in Abuja has freed Human Right Activist and Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore after several hours in detention.
Mr. Omoyele Sowore was arrested at the appeal court premises today, Thursday, February 24, 2022 in Abuja, after attending a court session.
Sowore, who took to social media in video to announce his release, said he was arrested based on a petition against him by Senator Ned Nwoke.
He said “this is Sowore here, I am leaving the police station in Sars sabatour. They detained me over some stupid petition they said stupid Ned Nwoke wrote.
“The shameful thing is that the police has become the police for higher. They attacked us earlier today, and by the time we were done in court, they had arrested me. I knew that this is what is going to happen. And am not surprised that is what they did. When we got here. I made it very clear to everybody, all of the police officers involved, that I cannot write any statement and I would not accept any kind of bail conditions attached to my release. They took me to their detention, when they were tired they came and call me that I should be going home.
“We know why this is happening, we know that they are afraid of the future. They are afraid that very soon Sowore will declare and become the President of Nigeria. You can’t stop me.” He said.
Earlier, in a release by one of Sowere’s aide, Tope Temokun, disclosed how some unidentified armed men, attacked the Sowere’s vehicle looking for him while unknown to them, Sowere had taken a different vehicle.
The statement reads,
“This morning at exactly 9:10am around Federal Government Boys College at Guru in Abuja, a group of gunmen neatly dressed in para-military uniform, in a Silver Sharon space bus, crossed down Omoyele Sowore’s vehicle Lexus RX 350, on the way to the Court of Appeal, Abuja for the hearing of one his appeals.
“Unfortunately for them, Omoyele Sowore had outsmarted these goons by getting to the court early ahead of his personal vehicle in another vehicle. On discovery that he was not inside the vehicle, the five supporters of Omoyele Sowore who were in that vehicle were brutalized and hit with gun buts, heavily injured and held hostage for about two hours, shouting “Where is Sowore? Where is Sowore?”
‘The five persons inside the Lexus RX 350 are: Damilare Adenola, Deborah Afuwape, Sanyaolu Juwon , Simeon Ojuolape and Wisdom Thomas. If these gunmen had met Omoyele Sowore inside the vehicle early today, may God forbid, it would not have been the same story as they came to destroy and to kill.
“Immediately after this failed gun attack which could not be anything less than an assassination attempt, men of Nigerian Police Force arrived the Court of Appeal in Gestapo manner and stationed there from that morning till around 4pm, just to await Sowore’s stepping out of court and on stepping out of Court, they swooped on Omoyele Sowore and arrested him and whisked him away to SWAT headquarters, Abattoir Abuja (formerly SARS office), where he is currently held.
“We are making this press statement to alert the world that there was an attempt to assassinate Omoyele Sowore this morning by gun men dressed in para-military uniform and few minutes after the botched attack, police were on his trail to the court where he was eventually arrested by the police.
“Whatever the arranged and cooked-up excuse for this arrest might be, we wish to say without any equivocation that the Federal Government of Nigeria cannot wash its hands clean of this desperate moves to get Omoyele Sowore eliminated.
‘After series of petition to the office of the Inspector-General of Police on the past foiled attacks on Omoyele Sowore at the premises of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which have remained uninvestigated except for one which was haphazardly and pretentiously attended to albeit abandoned mid-way, none of the several petitions written in this regard was looked into. We therefore provenly have a reason to conclude that the several assassination attempts on Omoyele Sowore are handiwork of this government and reason the acts are being tacitly supported by the law enforcement agents, who are agents of the Federal Government of Nigeria, across board, under the watch of this government.
“Whatever agenda the government might have with all these desperate deadly moves to eliminate Omoyele Sowore, we put the responsibility on the door-step of President Mohammadu Buhari, who is the Chief Security Officer of this nation in whose hands the responsibility for the safety and security of each citizen is entrusted, which, in violation of his oath of office, he has now renounced and abdicated, with reckless abandon.
“We call on the men of Nigerian Police and the Federal Government of Nigeria to release OMOYELE SOWORE immediately and unconditionally!
In a similar statement by the Deputy National Cordinator, Take it Back Movement, North Central condemned the arrest, describing it as infringing of fundamental human right.
“Take it Back Movement, North Central demands that the Nigerian Police release Mr. Omoyele Sowore immediately.
“The Nigerian police must desist from being used as mercenaries to oppress Nigerians and infringing on the fundamental human rights of citizens they are meant to protect.
“We condemn the arrest of Mr. Omoyele Sowore and demand that he be released immediately as further delay will be resisted with protest.”
