Police to transfer Sowore to Lagos

The Nigerian police is planning to transfer Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) to Lagos, possibly for arraignment in court, one of his lawyers told PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday.

“The latest information we have is that the police plan to take him to Lagos today,” Mr Sowore’s lawyer, Abubakar Marshall from Falana and Falana’s chambers, said in a phone interview with our reporter.

The move, this newspaper learned, was to meet jurisdictional requirements, which entail charging a defendant where the offence is allegedly committed.

However, Mr Marshall said the police have yet to file charges against the activist “Their plan for now is to transfer him to Lagos,” the lawyer added.

Also confirming the plan to our reporter on Tuesday, a police source who preferred to stay anonymous, said, “Sowore would be transferred to Lagos, since that was where the allegations leveled against him were committed, adding that “If he’s to be taken to court, it’ll be in Lagos not Abuja.”

Mr Sowore was detained by the police in Abuja Monday night after he honoured an invitation by the police over his exposé on police officers allegedly extorting motorists along Ikeja in Lagos State.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Sowore arrived at the FID complex in Abuja at exactly 10 a.m. on Monday amid heavy security presence.

The activist was invited for questioning by the police over a video clip he uploaded on social media alleging extortion by officers at a checkpoint in Lagos.

The police invitation letter dated 23 January sent to Mr Sowore stated that he was under investigation for alleged offences, including resisting and obstructing public officers, disobedience to lawful orders, and cyberstalking.

Sowore’s supporters protest in Lagos

Meanwhile, members of the Take It Back Movement (TIB) in Lagos stormed the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters Tuesday morning to demand the release of Mr Sowore – the group’s convener.

The protesters led by the TIB national coordinator – Juwon Sanyaolu, arrived at the Lagos police headquarters at about 11 am, carrying placards with various inscriptions such as “Free Sowore,” “Stop Harassment of Citizens on Nigerian Roads,” and “End Police Brutality and Extortion.”

Sowore detained

His detention on Monday followed his refusal to accept stringent bail conditions imposed on him after interrogation.

Mr Sowore Monday night announced on social media that the police were holding him in custody until further notice, following his “refusal to accept their illegal bail condition”.

He was detained at the Abattoir police station in Guzape, Abuja, which was formerly used by the now defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) notorious for the inhuman activities of its officers.

The police earlier granted Mr Sowore bail on Monday, after interrogating him at the Force Intelligence Department (FID) complex in Abuja.

But the activist described the bail conditions, including the provision of a level 17 civil servant as a surety and surrendering his passport to the police, as “illegal”.

He said he rejected the bail in a post on social media on Monday, even after the conditions were further reviewed.

Meanwhile, Mr Sowore’s lawyer, Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, backed Sowore’s stance, citing a Court of Appeal judgement in Dasuki v. Director-General of SSS.

Mr Falana stated on Monday in a letter to the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police in charge of the FID that such conditions had been declared illegal by the Court of Appeal.