{"id":12365,"date":"2025-08-06T14:19:49","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T14:19:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/psmnigeria.org\/?p=12365"},"modified":"2025-08-06T14:22:37","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T14:22:37","slug":"tension-in-abuja-as-sowore-reports-to-police-with-personal-effects-supporters-demand-release-within-two-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/psmnigeria.org\/?p=12365","title":{"rendered":"Tension in Abuja as Sowore Reports to Police with Personal Effects, Supporters Demand Release Within Two Hours"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prominent activist and #RevolutionNow convener, <strong>Omoyele Sowore<\/strong>, arrived at the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, carrying a travel bag packed with personal items in what appeared to be a symbolic gesture of readiness for detention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sowore was responding to a controversial summons from the <strong>Inspector General of Police\u2019s Monitoring Unit<\/strong> over a petition reportedly filed against him. He arrived at exactly <strong>12:16 p.m.<\/strong>, accompanied by his legal team\u2014<strong>Barristers A.K. Musa and Marshal Abubakar<\/strong> and dozens of supporters who chanted anti-government slogans and criticized the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the items in his visibly packed bag were clothing, books, soap, a toothbrush, and toothpaste\u2014items suggesting preparedness for incarceration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tensions quickly escalated as members of the <strong>Take It Back Movement<\/strong>, <strong>#NUDE NIGERIA<\/strong>, and other allied groups issued a <strong>two-hour ultimatum<\/strong> to the police to release Sowore or face mass resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf they refuse to release Sowore, then they must arrest us with him. We will not leave. It\u2019s 12:16 p.m., and after two hours, if he\u2019s not released, they\u2019ll have to detain all of us,\u201d declared <strong>Princess Mikky<\/strong>, convener of #NUDE NIGERIA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rex Elanu<\/strong>, speaking on behalf of the <strong>Take It Back Movement<\/strong>, accused the police of pursuing a vendetta, describing the invitation as a politically motivated attempt to silence Sowore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is disgraceful that the Inspector General has chosen vendetta over professionalism. Sowore has consistently spoken truth to power. We will not back down in our fight to liberate Nigerians from the stranglehold of bad governance,\u201d Elanu said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The protesters condemned what they called a pattern of political persecution and legal harassment against dissidents, urging Nigerians to reject what they see as a growing culture of repression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sowore had earlier questioned the legality of the invitation, describing it as \u201cdefective and riddled with legal flaws.\u201d The initial allegation of \u201cinciting disturbance,\u201d which critics argue is not recognized under Nigerian law, was later changed to <strong>\u201cforgery and criminal defamation.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite this, the police have not publicly disclosed the petitioner\u2019s identity or presented supporting legal documentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Observers say the case reflects a broader trend of intimidation against government critics and raises serious concerns about due process and civil liberties in Nigeria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prominent activist and #RevolutionNow convener, Omoyele Sowore, arrived at the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, carrying a travel bag packed with personal items in what appeared to&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":12367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pages"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tension in Abuja as Sowore Reports to Police with Personal Effects, 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