Human rights activist and Sahara Reporters founder, Omoyele Sowore, has accused the Nigeria Police Force of brutality, wrongful detention, and harassment, following his recent arrest and release.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE NEWS on Monday, Sowore appeared with his arm in a sling, alleging that it was broken during his time in police custody. He firmly denied claims by the police that he has a personal vendetta against the force.
“I don’t have a personal vendetta against the police,” Sowore stated. “A week before my arrest, I was at the police headquarters advocating for better pensions and salaries for both serving and retired officers.”
He said he was invited to answer questions regarding certain allegations, including forgery and cyberstalking, but upon arrival was not shown the petitions against him until much later.
“They claimed I forged a police wireless message,” he said. “When we compared the documents, the only difference was the word PANIC written in red ink on the copy they alleged was forged.”
He added that the second allegation came from a senior police officer who claimed that Sahara Reporters, the online media platform he founded, published a false story alleging she was the Inspector General of Police’s mistress.
“Sahara Reporters is a legal entity separate from me. If they had an issue, they should have taken it up with the organisation, not me personally.”
Sowore further claimed that he was physically assaulted and tortured in police custody. “I was roughhandled and tortured in the cell at 6 a.m. last Thursday. It wasn’t just me other detainees witnessed it.”
According to Sowore, the police initially failed to build a solid case against him and later brought in additional lawyers to draft three more petitions while he remained in detention.
“They were just fishing,” he said. “Trying to find something to stick because their original allegations weren’t holding up.”
He emphasised that his activism and open criticism of government agencies especially regarding impunity, corruption, and abuse of power have made him a constant target. “They always link me to cybercrime because I’m a digital citizen. Some think I post everything critical of government online.”
Sowore also noted that his passport has been held by the police since January, after he called the Inspector General “illegal,” which led to another arrest and detention.
Following his release within the 48-hour window stipulated in Nigeria’s constitution he filed for a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the police.
“They’ve now filed two charges against me,” he explained. “Interestingly, none of them relate to what I was arrested for, except for the so-called forgery.”
“This is about shutting me up. But I won’t stop fighting against injustice.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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