JUST IN: Chaos in Abuja as Police Re-Arrest Sowore Moments After Court Grants Him, Nnamdi Kanu’s Lawyer, Brother, 10 Others Bail

A Magistrate’s Court in Kuje, Abuja, on Friday granted bail to publisher and activist Omoyele Sowore; Aloy Ejimakor, lawyer to detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu; Kanu’s brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu; and ten others, following their arrest over the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest held in Abuja on October 20. Each defendant was granted bail in the sum of ₦500,000 with two sureties in like sum.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’I’d, also required the defendants to present verified National Identification Numbers, three-year tax clearance certificates, and submit their passports as part of the bail conditions. The 13 defendants were arraigned on charges of unlawful assembly and public disturbance.

However, moments after the bail ruling, chaos erupted outside the court as police officers reportedly re-arrested Sowore. Eyewitnesses said officers, led by the Investigating Police Officer in charge of the case, CSP Ilyasu Barau, assaulted and forcefully dragged Sowore into a waiting van. Witnesses claimed the officers cited a “secret remand order” but failed to produce any court document authorising his detention.

According to onlookers, Sowore resisted the arrest, demanding clarification, but was punched and manhandled before being taken away. His legal team and other supporters at the court premises decried the incident as a violation of the court’s order. Lawyers were also reportedly attacked during the scuffle.

Sowore had been apprehended on Thursday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where he had gone to show solidarity with Kanu during his terrorism trial. His arrest and subsequent treatment have sparked renewed outrage among human rights advocates and civil society groups, who accused security agencies of flouting judicial authority and targeting activists.

Sowore, a former presidential candidate and pro-democracy campaigner, has faced multiple arrests and prosecutions in recent years over his activism.