Amnesty International Nigeria has strongly condemned the detention of human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, calling it arbitrary and demanding his immediate release.
Sowore had arrived at the Force Headquarters in Abuja to respond to a police invitation, accompanied by his supporters on Wednesday.
The Nigeria Police Force is investigating Sowore over allegations of “forgery and inciting disturbance.”
However, Amnesty International described these charges as “bogus and politically motivated” in a press release.
The organization urged the authorities to drop all allegations and allow Sowore to exercise his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisal.
“The Nigerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Sowore and drop all bogus and politically motivated charges against him.
The authorities should listen to critics instead of seeking to gag them through outright abuse of power.
“Nigerian authorities must allow Sowore to freely exercise his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
Apart from putting him through sham trials based on bogus charges, Sowore has been subjected to series of human rights violations.
“Since 2019, Sowore has been facing arbitrary detentions and unfair trials solely for the peaceful exercise of his human rights,” the statement read.
Amnesty International recalled its declaration of Sowore as a Prisoner of Conscience in November 2019, following his initial arbitrary detention.
The organization stated that Sowore’s case exemplifies the extent to which authorities in Nigeria will go to silence peaceful dissent.
The detention has sparked widespread protests and trending hashtags, including #FreeSoworeNow and #RevolutionNow, across social media platforms.
