Former Vice-President and 2023 presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday criticised the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) over the continued detention of Omoyele Sowore, a two-term presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) and publisher of Sahara Reporters.

New Telegraph had earlier reported that on Wednesday, August 6, Sowore arrived at the NPF headquarters in Abuja to honour an invitation from the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) monitoring unit over a petition.

He arrived at the force headquarters with his lawyers and was taken into custody and remained detained as of Wednesday.

Reacting to the development in a statement on his official X handle, Atiku described Sowore’s handling by the IGP monitoring team as a “Shameful abuse of power.”

The former Nigerian leader noted that it was wrong for Kayode Egbetokun, the IGP, to act as both a complainant and the person deploying police personnel to enforce his own grievance.

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He also demanded Sowore’s immediate and unconditional release, saying the situation must not be allowed to continue.

“The treatment of Omoyele Sowore by the IGP Monitoring Team is a shameful abuse of power. It is wrong, unlawful, and must be condemned by all who believe in justice,” the post reads.

“Sowore’s only offence is speaking out against injustice, nepotism, and misrule. For that, he was reportedly attacked at dawn, beaten, had his arm broken, and sprayed with chemicals by policemen acting on petitions from the IGP’s own office.

“This is a personal vendetta, not policing. Even the Nigerian Police Regulation forbids this.

“Regulation 367 states: No police officer shall institute any legal proceeding in his own personal interest or in connection with matters arising out of his public duties.”