What the Nigeria Police did to Omoyele Sowore at the Kuje Magistrates Court was worse than law enforcement brigandage. It was a despicable act of terror that must not go unpunished.
Sowore had earlier been unjustifiably arrested at the premises of a High Court on the flimsy claim that some protesters – who were themselves unlawfully arrested days earlier – had mentioned his name in their statements as the leader of the protest. The police had accused them of violating a supposed court order restricting demonstrations within certain public spaces.
Isn’t it ironic that the same Nigeria Police – renowned for disobeying court orders at will – would suddenly become defenders of “court orders” when it suits their authoritarian agenda? The hypocrisy is glaring.
Sowore was later arraigned at the Kuje Magistrates Court alongside other detainees, including Nnamdi Kanu’s brother and one of his lawyers. The court granted them bail. But while Sowore waited as his lawyers perfected the bail conditions, a band of armed and aggressive police officers – reportedly numbering about one hundred – stormed the court premises. Without presenting any remand order or legal warrant, they violently seized Sowore and others, injuring some people in the process, and whisked him away to an undisclosed location. His whereabouts remain unknown.
This shameful incident is an affront to the rule of law and a mockery of every effort at police reform in Nigeria. It reveals the persistence of a colonial policing philosophy – one rooted in authoritarianism and contempt for citizens’ rights – despite decades of rhetoric about the transformation and democratization of law enforcement.
The action reeks of vendetta and political persecution. Sowore has been a consistent critic of the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, whose controversial tenure elongation he has described as unlawful. The matter is already before a competent court, yet instead of allowing due process to take its course, the police have chosen to resort to brute force and intimidation.
There was absolutely no justification or provocation for this irresponsible act. It is precisely this type of conduct that breeds public resentment, hostility, and mistrust toward the police. It also exposes the hypocrisy of police leaders who, at public events, profess commitment to professionalism, human rights, and accountability while their men act with impunity and lawlessness on the streets.
The abduction of Sowore from a court premises – under the watch of judicial officers – is not just contemptuous of the judiciary; it is a direct assault on Nigeria’s democracy. It strikes at the heart of constitutionalism and the sanctity of the courts.
This disgraceful conduct calls for accountability at the highest level. The Inspector-General of Police bears ultimate responsibility and should be held to account. The officers who carried out this brazen act of terror must be identified and sanctioned. Anything less would amount to endorsement of tyranny.
The frequent violent attacks and arbitrary arrests of Sowore by the police are symptomatic of a broader intolerance for dissent and criticism. They reflect a government that feels threatened by citizens who speak truth to power, and a police institution still trapped in its colonial past – serving the state rather than protecting the people.
Until such impunity is decisively addressed, the Nigeria Police will continue to represent a threat, not a safeguard, to democracy and human rights.
Okechukwu Nwanguma is Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) and a human rights advocate.
