By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
Activist, Omoyele Sowore, has announced his release from what he described as “illegal detention” in Kuje Prison in Abuja for four days.
Sowore confirmed his release in a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle on Monday, October 27.
He tweeted, “HAPPENING NOW: Leaving Kuje Prison in Abuja after being detained there illegally for four days by @officialABAT illegal IGP, Kayode Egbetokun. #FreeNnamdiKanuNow.”
Recall that Sowore was rearrested on Friday, October 23, by police officers shortly after he and 13 other FreeNnamdiKanuNow protesters were granted N500,000 bail by Kuje Magistrates’ Court in Abuja.
The magistrate, Abubakar Umar Sai’I’d, asked the defendants to present a verified national identification number (NIN), submit three-year tax clearance certificates and passports as part of their bail conditions.
According to eyewitnesses, Sowore was arrested and dragged into a waiting vehicle by police officers while his legal team was in the process of perfecting his bail conditions.
The officers were reported to have claimed that they were acting on a remand order authorising Sowore’s transfer to Kuje Correctional Centre.
Sowore was earlier arrested on Thursday, October 23, within the premises of the Federal High Court in Abuja by armed policemen.
He was arrested shortly after he appeared in solidarity with the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
The security operatives who arrested Sowore said they were acting on the orders of the Commissioner of Police and insisted that he must come with them to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command.
According to the Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, Sowore was arrested for leading the #FreeNnamdiKanu protesters to “restricted areas” in the city centre.
