Following the arrest of prominent Nigerian publisher and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, by the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), the Amnesty International has faulted the detention of the human rights activist.

Labelling it as unlawful, the International Amnesty, Nigeria chapter , however, called for his prompt and unconditional release.

New Telegraph had earlier reported that Sowore, publisher of a Sahara Reporters alongside some of his supporters, visited the Police Headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday to comply with the Force invitation.

He was under investigation by the Inspector General’s Monitoring Unit over allegations of forgery and inciting public unrest.

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Reacting to his arrest in a press release issued on its official X account, the Amnesty International described Sowore’s detention as the latest in a series of ongoing harassments and intimidations by the Nigerian Police.

The organisation maintained that the charges against him are “Bogus and politically motivated,” and urged the authorities to respect his fundamental rights to free expression and peaceful protest without the threat of retaliation.

“The Nigerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Sowore and drop all bogus and politically motivated charges against him.

“The authorities should listen to critics instead of seeking to gag them through outright abuse of power.

“Nigerian authorities must allow Sowore to freely exercise his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

“Apart from putting him through sham trials based on bogus charges, Sowore has been subjected to series of human rights violations.

“Since 2019, Sowore has been facing arbitrary detentions and unfair trials solely for the peaceful exercise of his human rights,” the statement read.

The detention has sparked widespread outrage online, with hashtags like #FreeSoworeNow and #RevolutionNow gaining momentum across various social media platforms.