TIB Movement Condemns Sowore’s Arrest, Threatens Nationwide Protests If Not Released
By Passman Akpos
The group accused Tinubu’s administration of attempting to return Nigeria to the dark days of dictatorship, vowing that citizens would not remain silent.
The Take It Back (TIB) Movement has demanded the immediate and unconditional release of its convener and human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, who was arrested by the police in Abuja on Thursday.
In a statement on Thursday signed by Sanyaolu Juwon, the National Coordinator of the movement, the group warned that any attempt by President Bola Tinubu’s administration or the police to detain or intimidate Sowore would be met with massive, nationwide resistance.
The statement, titled “Any Attempt To Detain Omóyele Sowore Will Be Met With Mass Resistance,” accused the police of acting under political orders to silence dissenting voices, particularly over the ongoing #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protests and other forms of peaceful activism.
“We have received credible information that the Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has invited our comrade and convener, Omoyele Sowore, reportedly in connection with the ongoing #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest and other legitimate acts of political expression. Sowore has since honored the invitation but is yet to return,” the group said.
“We wish to categorically warn that any form of detention, harassment, or intimidation of Sowore by the Nigeria Police Force or any arm of the Tinubu regime will be met with an immediate, nationwide mass action.”
“Sowore is not a criminal; he is a renowned human rights activist and a voice of conscience for millions of oppressed Nigerians who continue to suffer under a corrupt and tyrannical system,” it added.
The group accused Tinubu’s administration of attempting to return Nigeria to the dark days of dictatorship, vowing that citizens would not remain silent.
“The Tinubu-led regime must understand that this is not 1984, and Nigerians will not sit idly while their rights to dissent and protest are trampled upon,” the statement continued.
“The right to peaceful protest is constitutionally guaranteed, and no regime, no matter how desperate, can take it away.”
The TIB Movement warned that if Sowore is not released immediately, mass protests and civil disobedience would be launched across the country in collaboration with other progressive groups.
“Let it be clearly known: if Sowore is not released immediately and unconditionally, the Take It Back Movement, alongside progressive organizations across the country, will mobilize citizens for sustained protests and civil disobedience actions until he regains his freedom,” the statement read.
“We hold the Commissioner of Police, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Tinubu regime fully responsible for the safety and well-being of Omoyele Sowore.”
Sowore was arrested at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, where he was meant to appear over what he described as a “bogus and farcical” charge of alleged forgery of a police wireless message.
SaharaReporters learned that the arrest was ordered by the FCT Commissioner of Police, acting on directives from the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, whom Sowore has repeatedly described as “illegal.”
Witnesses at the court told SaharaReporters that a police officer approached Sowore and informed him that he was under arrest on the orders of the FCT Police Commissioner.
Despite protests from his legal team led by human rights lawyer Tope Temokun, police officers escorted Sowore into a waiting vehicle and drove him away.
Sowore, a former presidential candidate and relentless critic of the Nigerian government, has faced multiple arrests since 2019 for his activism, including the #RevolutionNow and #EndSARS campaigns.
