The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned the repeated arrest and detention of human rights activist Omoyele Sowore, warning that such actions could signal a return to dictatorship where dissent is suppressed.
In a statement signed by NLC President Joe Ajaero, the union described Sowore as a “moral compass” whose harassment reflects a slide toward authoritarianism.
“We strongly condemn the frequent arrest and long spells in detention of Sowore, a renowned civil rights activist. It is all the more unacceptable if he was injured in the course of his arrest, as it is being alleged,” Ajaero said.
He warned that the continued repression of activists would endanger the rights of all Nigerians.
“If the state can arbitrarily detain Sowore today, no journalist, no trade unionist, no activist, and no ordinary citizen is safe tomorrow. We cannot allow Nigeria to slide back into the dark days of dictatorship, where fear replaces freedom and dissent is met with brute force.”
The NLC urged the government to uphold constitutional rights to freedom of speech and association, stating that “government, like all citizens, must be law-abiding not only when it suits it, but unconditionally.”
The outrage followed reports that Sowore sustained injuries during an alleged attempt by police officers to transfer him from his detention cell to court on Thursday.
Amnesty International, in a statement on Thursday, claimed Sowore was assaulted by officers of the Force Intelligence Department (FID) around 6:00 a.m. and taken to an undisclosed location in Abuja.
“As a result, he sustained a severe injury on his left hand. Attempting to drag Sowore to a judicial process without recourse to his lawyer is a flagrant disregard for the rule of law,” the rights group said.
A separate post on Sowore’s verified Facebook page, managed by an associate, corroborated the incident, stating that “a police team, headed by a CSP from the IGP Monitoring Unit, forcibly entered Omoyele Sowore’s detention cell at the FID in Abuja, broke his right hand, and transported him to an undisclosed location.”
The former presidential candidate was reportedly detained after honouring an invitation from the police.
Meanwhile, former Vice President and 2023 PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, also condemned the arrest, describing it as a “shameful abuse of power.”
“This is personal vendetta, not policing. The IGP cannot be both a complainant and the force behind the arrest,” Atiku said in a post on his official Facebook page.
Quoting Nigeria Police Regulation 367, he reminded authorities that “no police officer shall institute any legal proceeding in his interest or connection with matters arising out of his public duties.”
“This must stop. Sowore’s only offence is speaking out against injustice, nepotism, and misrule. This is not about Sowore alone; it is an attack on every Nigerian who dares to speak truth to power,” the ex-vice president said.
