Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has reportedly been re-arrested and assaulted by officers of the Nigeria Police Force just moments after being granted bail by a Kuje Magistrate Court in Abuja. Eyewitnesses say the incident occurred outside the court premises shortly after Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’id approved bail for Sowore and 13 others.

According to reports by Politics Nigeria, Sowore was allegedly attacked and forced into a waiting police van by officers led by CSP Ilyasu Barau, the Officer in Charge of Anti-Vice under the FCT DC-CID. The activist’s legal team was still working to finalize bail conditions when the officers moved in. Witnesses claim that Sowore was punched, dragged on the ground, and bundled into a police vehicle without any official explanation.

An eyewitness recounted that when they demanded to see a remand order, the officers refused to present any document. “The IPO punched him, dragged him, and forced him into the van. They really manhandled him,” one witness said. Another added that the police claimed to have a ‘secret remand order’ and later took Sowore to Kuje Prison despite the court’s bail ruling.

Earlier, the court had granted bail to Sowore alongside Aloy Ejimakor (lawyer to detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu), Prince Emmanuel Kanu (Kanu’s brother), and 11 others. The group was arrested during the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in Abuja and charged with unlawful assembly and disturbance of public peace.

The development has sparked outrage among human rights advocates and political observers who described the re-arrest as an abuse of judicial authority and a setback for democracy and rule of law in Nigeria. Calls for Sowore’s immediate release have since gained momentum across social media platforms.