Court Grants ₦500,000 Bail Each to Sowore, Kanu’s Lawyer and 12 Others

By Tgnews Reporter, Abuja

Human rights Activist Omoyele Sowore was granted bail by a Kuje Magistrate Court only to be punched, dragged, and bundled into a police van by officers moments later, sparking outrage and cries of judicial sabotage.

The dramatic twist unfolded Friday afternoon, turning what should have been a routine release into a flashpoint for Nigeria’s fragile democracy, as Sowore’s supporters clashed with security forces outside the court.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’Id, had just approved bail for Sowore – the fiery publisher of Sahara Reporters, 2023 African Action Congress presidential candidate, and convener of the #RevolutionNow protests – along with 12 others arrested in connection with Monday’s #FreeNnamdiKanuNow demonstration in Abuja.

Among the co-defendants were Aloy Ejimakor, lead counsel for the imprisoned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu; Kanu’s brother, Prince Emmanuel; and 10 fellow protesters.

They faced charges of unlawful assembly and disturbing public peace, stemming from a rally demanding Kanu’s unconditional release amid his ongoing terrorism trial.

Bail was set at ₦500,000 each, with stringent conditions: a verified National Identification Number (NIN), three years’ worth of tax clearance certificates, and the surrender of passports to ensure no one bolts before trial. Magistrate Sai’Id’s ruling came after a tense arraignment, with the group remanded earlier at Kuje Correctional Centre following their arrests.

But the relief was short-lived. Eyewitnesses and viral videos captured the pandemonium: As Sowore stepped out, a squad led by CSP Iliyasu Barau of the FCT Police Anti-Vice Unit pounced. Footage shows officers in riot gear slamming Sowore to the ground, raining blows while his lawyer – bloodied in the scuffle – pleaded for calm.

“They treated him like a criminal mastermind, not a man who’d just walked free from court,” one bystander told reporters, phone trembling as they filmed the melee. Armored vehicles rolled up, and in the chaos, bystanders and legal aides were shoved aside, with reports of tear gas canisters at the ready.

This wasn’t Sowore’s first brush with the long arm of the law. The activist, long a thorn in the side of successive Nigerian governments, was nabbed Thursday outside the Federal High Court, where he’d shown up in solidarity with Kanu.

He’d dodged arrest during the initial protest on October 20, when police scooped up 13 others, including Ejimakor and Emmanuel, for daring to march near restricted zones like the National Assembly. In a now-deleted social media post before his detention, Sowore had blasted Kanu’s defense team for withdrawing, calling it “completely political” and vowing to keep the pressure on.

Police spokespeople were tight-lipped, but insiders whisper the re-arrest ties to a fresh warrant over the protest’s route – allegedly too close to “sensitive” areas, despite Sowore’s insistence that Nigerians’ right to peaceful assembly trumps any no-go zones.

“The law protects protest, not prohibits it,” Sowore had fired back online earlier this week, announcing the arrests of his comrades and slamming the crackdown as state terror.

The incident has ignited a firestorm on social media, with #FreeSowore and #PoliceBrutality trending nationwide. “This is lawlessness in uniform,” tweeted one prominent activist, echoing sentiments from rights groups like Amnesty International, which decried the “flagrant disregard for court orders.”

Kanu’s IPOB, outlawed since 2017, framed the arrests as part of a broader clampdown on Igbo self-determination, while opposition figures accused the APC-led government of weaponizing security forces to silence dissent ahead of 2027 polls.

As night fell over Abuja, Sowore’s whereabouts remained unknown, his bloodied lawyer rushed to a clinic, and the other 12 defendants – spared the immediate drama – scrambled to meet bail terms.