The Nigeria Police Force has explained that the arrest of human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, was due to his alleged role in leading protesters into a restricted area, thereby violating a standing court order.
Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this on Thursday during a press conference in Abuja.
“Sowore has been arrested by the Nigeria Police Force, and the reason is that the 13 people that were arrested previously in connection to the ‘FreeNnadiKanu’ protest gave their statements.
“From the statements, every one of them mentioned that one Sowore led them into the restricted area in contravention of the court order.
“So it would be most unfair to charge some people to court and leave the person that led them to commit the offence.
“And that’s why, in the spirit of fair play, and to ensure that justice is served, Sowore was arrested today,” he said.
Hundeyin added that, like the other suspects, Sowore would not be detained for long.
“According to the police spokesman, like the others too, Sowore will not spend up to 24 hours with the police because we will arraign him as soon as we wrap up his charges.
“In fact, if everything goes right, our plan is to ensure that he’s arraigned today,” he said.
Hundeyin noted that 13 protesters had earlier been arrested for defying a court order restricting demonstrations in certain parts of Abuja.
He explained that eight suspects were apprehended on Monday around the Transcorp area, while five others were arrested near the Ministry of Finance.
“They were arrested because they contravened the court order that restricted movements within those areas despite several warnings,” he said.