Police Explain Why Sowore Remains in Custody

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…he said, involved allegations of forgery of a police document which the activist allegedly published online.

ABUJA, NIGERIA  – The iNews Times | The Commissioner of Police in charge of the Special Intervention Squad, Abayomi Shogunle, has explained why human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, is still in police custody.

Speaking to protesters and journalists at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Friday, Shogunle said Sowore’s continued detention was due to his refusal to make a formal statement in response to two separate petitions filed against him.

Sowore, who contested the 2019 presidential election under the African Action Congress (AAC), was arrested earlier this week following complaints to the police, a move that has sparked widespread calls for his immediate release from rights groups, political allies, and supporters.

According to Shogunle, the petitions were presented to Sowore in the presence of his lawyers. One petition, he said, involved allegations of forgery of a police document which the activist allegedly published online. The second petition accused Sowore of cyberbullying.

“The two petitions against Omoyele Sowore were shown to him right in my presence,” Shogunle said in a video streamed by Sahara Reporters. “One bordered on forgery of a police document, which he published online, and we all know the position of the law. It is your duty to provide a source of how you came about the forged document. The second petition has to do with cyberbullying.”

The police chief emphasised that Sowore was given the opportunity to respond but chose not to.

“The two petitions were shown to him in the presence of his lawyers. The issue now is that he refused to make a statement in the presence of his lawyers. It is on record. And the procedure under the Nigerian law is very clear: when an allegation is made against you, you are called upon, you have a duty to put down your own position,” he stated.

Sowore, who is also the founder of Sahara Reporters, has had several run-ins with Nigerian security agencies over his activism and outspoken criticism of government policies. His latest arrest has reignited debates about freedom of speech, press freedom, and the boundaries of police authority in handling politically sensitive cases.