ABUJA — Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has condemned the arrest of activist and former presidential contender, Omoyele Sowore, describing it as an unjust abuse of authority.
Sowore was arrested on Thursday after voluntarily honouring an invitation to the headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday morning, Obi expressed deep concern over the development, questioning why law enforcement would detain a citizen who willingly presented himself.
“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,” Obi wrote.
The former Anambra State governor also criticised the police for failing to present any credible or transparent charges against Sowore, saying the move “casts a troubling shadow over the nature and motivation” behind the detention.
Obi warned that continued detention of the activist without lawful justification would further erode public trust in Nigeria’s law enforcement institutions.
“Anything short of releasing him immediately will only deepen the crisis of confidence between the people and the security agencies,” he cautioned.
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