Peter Obi adds his voice to those calling for Sowore to either be charged or released

FORMER Anambra State governor and 2023 presidential election candidate Peter Obi has called on the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to either release Omoyele Sowore immediately or charge him to court.

On Wednesday this week, Sowore arrived at the NPF headquarters in Abuja to honour an invitation from the inspector-general of police monitoring unit over a petition. He arrived at the force headquarters with his lawyers and some activists, including members of the Take It Back Movement and was immediately taken into custody.

Like Governor Obi, Mr Sowore has stood for presidency, running as the candidate of the African Action Congress in 2019 and 2023. His immediate arrest has sparked a debate with regards to the legality of the NPF's actions.

In a statement posted on his X handle earlier today, Governor Obi expressed deep concern over the detention of the activist, who voluntarily honoured an invitation by the police for questioning. He added that the conduct of the police has the potential to erode public confidence in the institutions.

Governor Obi said, “I was deeply disturbed to learn of the arrest of Mr Omoyele Sowore yesterday shortly after he voluntarily honoured an invitation by the Nigerian Police Force. At the time of writing, no clear or credible charges have been made public, which further casts a troubling shadow over the nature and motivation behind his detention.

“His arrest, particularly under circumstances where he presented himself in good faith to law enforcement, should be condemned by all who value justice and due process. From all indications, no urgency or criminal flight risk warranted such high-handed treatment.

“To detain a citizen who came of his own accord, without the public disclosure of clear, lawful charges, is not only a miscarriage of justice but an abuse of state power. As the ancient Greek philosopher Plato rightly said, justice in the life and conduct of the state is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens.

“When those entrusted with power act unjustly, they poison not only the legal order but also the moral conscience of the nation. I therefore call on the Nigerian police to immediately release Omoyele Sowore or charge him formally under the law.

“Anything short of this would be a further erosion of public trust in the nation’s law enforcement institutions. It is our collective duty to insist that the rule of law must apply to all citizens, regardless of ideology, background, or political alignment.”

However, Abayomi Shogunle, the police commissioner for the special intervention squad, said Mr Sowore was arrested and detained after he refused to make a statement during police interrogation. He added: “The two petitions against Omoyele Sowore were shown to him in my presence, one concerns forgery of a police document he published online and the other relates to cyber-bullying.

"He was asked to provide the source of the forged document but refused to make a statement in the presence of his lawyers. This refusal is on record. 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. The same law that gives him the right to remain silent also gives the police the responsibility of certain duties to do when somebody who has been alleged of an offence decides not to talk, which you’re also aware of."