Armed policemen on Thursday, arrested former presidential candidate and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, at the premises of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The arrest came shortly after he appeared at the court in solidarity with the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Eyewitnesses said the security operatives insisted that Sowore must accompany them to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command. When asked to state his offence, one of the officers said they were acting on the directive of the FCT Commissioner of Police.
“The Commissioner of Police said we should bring you to the office,” the officer reportedly told him.
Sowore, who questioned the absence of a formal invitation letter, maintained that his lawyer must accompany him. He was eventually taken away in a police van.
The activist’s arrest comes just days after he led a #FreeNnamdiKanu protest in Abuja on Monday, October 20, as part of nationwide demonstrations demanding the IPOB leader’s release.
During that protest, Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, his brother, Emmanuel Kanu, and ten others were arrested and later remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
According to a First Information Report (FIR) filed before a Chief Magistrate’s Court in Kuje, the police alleged that the demonstrators defied a court order, chanted war songs, and obstructed traffic flow.
The FIR further accused the defendants of criminal conspiracy, incitement, and causing a breach of public peace — offences said to be punishable under Sections 152, 114, and 113 of the Penal Code.
The police stated that on October 20, 2025, the twelve accused persons were arrested at various locations within the FCT for allegedly disturbing public order while demanding Kanu’s release “in a manner that threatened national security.”