The Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has blasted the arrest and continued detention of Omoyele Sowore by the Nigeria Police Force.
He recently described Sowore’s treatment as a “miscarriage of justice and an abuse of state power.”
Speaking via a press statement, Obi shared that he is “deeply disturbed to learn of the arrest of Mr. Omoyele Sowore @YeleSowore yesterday, shortly after he voluntarily honoured an invitation by the Nigerian Police Force.”
According to him, the fact that Omoyele honoured the invitation of the Nigeria Police Force once called upon made him very deserving of respect and justice.
He stated that every Nigerian who values justice and due process should speak out against the obvious violation of Sowore’s human rights.
“At the time of writing, no clear or credible charges have been made public, which further casts a troubling shadow over the nature and motivation behind his detention.
From all indications, no urgency or criminal flight risk warranted such high-handed treatment,” he wrote.
The former Anambra State governor further questioned the legality and moral implications of such an arrest, stressing that Sowore should either be released or charged formally under the law.
Obi concluded by saying that failure to do either would be a further erosion of the faith Nigerians have in the country’s law enforcement institutions.
“To detain a citizen who came of his own accord, without the public disclosure of clear, lawful charges, is not only a miscarriage of justice but an abuse of state power.
Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as it first resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens.
When those entrusted with power act unjustly, they poison not only the legal order but the moral conscience of the nation.
I, therefore call on the Nigerian Police to immediately release Omoyele Sowore or charge him formally under the law.
Anything short of this would be a further erosion of public trust in the nation’s law enforcement institutions.
It is our collective duty to insist that the rule of law must apply to all citizens, regardless of ideology, background, or political alignment,” he added.
