From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed reports claiming that activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, was re-arrested after being granted bail by the Kuje Magistrate Court.
Earlier reports indicated that Sowore appeared before the court on Friday, following his arrest at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where he had met with the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Sowore, alongside Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu’s brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, and ten others, was arraigned for alleged incitement of public disturbance and breach of peace in connection with the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest held in Abuja.
The Magistrate Court granted the defendants bail in the sum of N500,000 each, with two sureties. However, reports soon surfaced that police officers had allegedly re-arrested Sowore and whisked him away from the court premises.
Reacting to the claims, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, clarified that Sowore was not re-arrested, but was taken to Kuje Prison pending the fulfillment of his bail conditions.
In a post on X, Hundeyin explained that the procedure followed was in line with standard legal practice, emphasising that a suspect cannot be taken to prison on a new charge without a court-issued remand warrant.
“Your story that he was arrested on a fresh charge and whisked away…to Kuje Prison…to be arraigned on Monday is procedurally incorrect.
“A person arrested on a fresh charge cannot be taken straight to prison. No prison will accept such a person without a remand warrant duly issued by a competent court. He was taken to prison as instructed on the attached remand warrant pending when he meets his bail conditions, nothing more!” Hundeyin stated.
The clarification comes amid widespread social media speculation surrounding Sowore’s treatment by law enforcement authorities.
