There was chaos outside the Kuje Magistrate Court on Thursday as police officers allegedly assaulted and re-arrested activist Omoyele Sowore, moments after the court granted him bail.
Eyewitnesses told Politics Nigeria that the incident occurred shortly after Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’id approved bail for Sowore and 13 others, including Aloy Ejimakor, lawyer to detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, and Prince Emmanuel Kanu, his brother.
As Sowore’s legal team worked to perfect his bail conditions, police officers led by CSP Ilyasu Barau, Officer in Charge of Anti-Vice under the DC-CID, FCT Command, allegedly pounced on the activist, punching and dragging him into a waiting police van.
“The IPO punched him, dragged him on the ground, and forced him into the van. They really manhandled him,” an eyewitness recounted.
Another witness claimed the police refused to present a remand order, saying instead that they were acting based on a “secret order.”
Reports indicate Sowore was later taken to Kuje Prison despite the earlier court ruling granting him bail.
The activist and others were earlier arraigned on charges of unlawful assembly and public disturbance during the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in Abuja.
