Read What Former US Ambassador Said About Sowore's Arrest That Attracted Reactions From Nigerians

A few days ago, Omoyele Sowore and some other activists were arrested and brutalized for organizing a cross over protest to usher in the new year at Gudu Junction, Abuja. Others who were arrested with him were Peter Williams, Sanyaolu Juwon, Emmanuel Bulus, and Damilare Ademola.


The activists were held in detention for five days before being arraigned before the court on charges that bordered on criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly and inciting public disturbance with the aim to overthrow the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.








on Tuesday, Sowore and the other activists were brought to the Magistrates' Court sitting in Wuse, Abuja, in handcuffs. Seeing them in handcuffs had triggered an altercation between the prison officials and their lawyer, Marshal Abubakar.

Marshal said he was disappointed so see the activists being brought to court in handcuffs as if they were common criminals.


Photos of when Sowore and others were brought to the court in handcuffs:










The arrest and detention of the activists have triggered public outcry, with many saying that the activists were only exercising their constitutional rights and had done nothing illegal to warrant their arrest. Many people have called on the government to release them without any conditions attached.

Following their arrest, former US Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, has expressed his disappointment over their arrest. In a tweet which was posted on his official Twitter handle, Campbell said that the arrest of Sowore is a poor representation of Nigeria to the incoming Biden administration.

Photo of John Campbell:







The reason for Campbell's statement is not farfetched. With Biden already being projected as the next president of the United States, many presidents had sent him their congratulations and declared their intentions to work with his incoming administration. Considering the position of America in global politics, many countries would always want to be in their good books. But Campbell believes this ongoing drama between the Nigerian government and the activist Sowore might send a wrong signal to the incoming administration of Biden.






John Campbell, a former US Department of State Foreign Service officer, had served in Nigeria twice. He first served in Nigeria as a political counselor from 1988 to 1990, and from 2004 to 2007, he served as an ambassador.

Amnesty International had also urged the Nigerian government to respect the human rights of the activists and release them without any conditions attached.

While speaking about their arrest and detention, the Nigerian Director of the group, Osai Ojigho, was quoted saying that since the authorities already have them, then they should follow the constitutional process on this. He said that if the authority arrests someone for a known crime, then the law demands that they charge the person to court within 24 or 48 hours as the case may be.

He added that the most important thing here is to make sure that their human rights are respected throughout this period, and that whatever is being done aligns with the constitution and international human rights laws.






This isn't the first time Sowore has been arrested by the government. Sowore had gone through a similar ordeal before when he was arrested on August 3rd, 2019, in Lagos by the personnel of DSS. After the arrest, he was moved to Abuja where he was detained for 144 days.

In a report made by Sahara Reporters, Sowore was accused of money laundering, and also for plotting to topple President Muhammadu Buhari's administration. Consequently, he was arraigned again on charges of treason, though the activist had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Meanwhile, in another report made by Sahara Reporters, the Kalasuwe and the Paramount Ruler of Apoi and Ijaw Confederation, Sunday Adejimola Amuseghan, has called on the Nigerian government to release Sowore and the other activists without any conditions.

The monarch said that Nigeria has more serious challenges staring the country at the face, and that Sowore is not Nigeria's problem.

In a statement signed by the Bamofin of Apoi land, Henry Ogbemerun, the monarch said that the government should focus on tackling the economic challenges of the country, insecurity problem, and the Covid-19 pandemic, instead of clamping down on the human rights of the citizens.

This is very sad indeed, and I hope the government will listen to the calls from members of the public to release the activists. Just like John Campbell rightly put it, this is a poor representation of Nigeria, not just to Biden's incoming administration as he said, but to the rest of the world.

Nigeria is a democratic country, and their actions on the eve of the new year did not go contrary to the constitution of the country.

Below are some of the reactions that followed John Campbell's statement: