By Okechukwu Nwaguma
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In a nation drowning in blood and fear, where armed bandits snatch schoolchildren, kidnappers prowl highways, and “one-chance” gangs prey on commuters daily, the Nigeria Police Force has made a curious choice. Instead of hunting down those who terrorise ordinary Nigerians, they have fixed their sights on a single man—Omoyele Sowore—a journalist, human rights advocate, and pro-democracy campaigner whose only weapons are his words and convictions.
On Wednesday, August 6, Sowore voluntarily honoured a police invitation to the Inspector-General of Police’s Monitoring Unit in Abuja. He was not hiding, not resisting, not armed. Yet, instead of listening, the police locked him up and have held him for days without charging him to court, over flimsy allegations of “forgery” and “cyberbullying.”
The Commissioner of Police in charge of the Special Intervention Squad, Abayomi Shogunle, claims that Sowore’s “refusal to make a statement” justifies his continued detention. This is nonsense in law. Section 35(2) of the Constitution and Section 35(2) of the Police Act 2020 give every Nigerian the absolute right to remain silent. That right exists precisely to protect citizens from abuse of power. Turning it into a reason for punishment is a perversion of justice.
Sowore says his hand was broken during arrest, that he has been denied a doctor, and that instead of medical treatment, the police paraded him before cameras to create a false image of wellness. If true, these are not just procedural lapses—they are acts of inhuman and degrading treatment, outlawed by the Constitution and the Anti-Torture Act 2017.
And here is the real shame: while bandits, kidnappers, and criminal gangs operate with impunity, the Inspector-General of Police—who has failed to inspire competence or deliver public safety—is expending precious manpower and resources on crushing peaceful dissent. This is not policing; it is political thuggery in uniform.
What makes it worse is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s silence. By standing by while the police are weaponised against critics, the President lends his office to the slow assassination of democracy. Leadership is measured by the courage to defend the Constitution even when the victim of injustice is a political opponent. Right now, that courage is nowhere to be found.
Sowore must be released—now. His injuries must be investigated, and those responsible held to account. The Nigeria Police must redirect its energy toward dismantling the criminal networks that are bleeding the country dry. If they cannot—or will not—protect Nigerians from real danger, they should at least stop turning the machinery of law enforcement into a blunt instrument for silencing the voices calling for a better Nigeria.
History will remember this moment, not for the false charges against a citizen, but for the clear message it sends: that in Tinubu’s Nigeria, it is safer to be an armed bandit than a peaceful critic.
Okechukwu Nwanguma is the Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre and former National Coordinator at the Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN).
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