Counsel to the detained human rights activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, have raised an alarm over the activist’s life, saying he is in danger following the alleged release of noxious gas into the cell where the Nigerian police are detaining him.
Lead lawyer, Tope Temokun, in a statement on Thursday, said Mr Sowore had been moved to an underground cell after he was physically brutalised in the early hours of Thursday in a bid to force him to an unknown destination forcibly.
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Mr Sowore was detained on Wednesday after honouring an invitation from the Inspector General of Police Monitoring Unit at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
Although he was invited over alleged forgery and criminal defamation, the police have yet to disclose the details of the allegations despite the activist’s request before honouring the invitation.
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“After honouring the invitation, Sowore was detained overnight, and in the early hours of this morning, he was forcibly moved to an unknown God-knows-where, with such violent handling that it dislocated and severely injured his right arm.
“As if physical injury was not enough, it was gathered in this calculated attack on his life what is believed to be noxious gas was reportedly released into the cell where he was being held and the information reaching us now is that he has been moved to an underground cell,” Mr Temokun said.
The lawyer said the unfolding events are not accidents or negligence but vivid attempts to destroy Mr Sowore’s health, life, and dignity.
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“Let it be clear: these are not accidents, nor negligence, or incompetence—this playing out events are vivid attempts on his health, his life, and his dignity,” he said.
Mr Temokun said it is now public knowledge that the only “crime” of Mr Sowore, a former presidential candidate, is that he continues to hold government accountable and speaks the truth to power, especially regarding IGP Kayode Egbetokun’s prolonged stay in office after exceeding the retirement age.
Earlier, Amnesty International (Nigeria) condemned the detention of the activist, describing it as unlawful and politically motivated.
AI also disclosed that the police broke Mr Sowore’s arm while forcibly transferring him to court on Thursday morning.
In the same vein, some Nigerian lawyers criticised the police handling of the case, citing procedural breaches and abuse of power.
Read the full statement by Sowore’s lawyer
PRESS RELEASE!
*POLICE MOVE AGAINST SOWORE IS A MURDER PLOT IN DISGUISE — THIS IS NOT LAW ENFORCEMENT, THIS IS STATE TERRORISM*
We have been alerted to the unfolding horror being visited upon Omoyele Sowore ever since his invitation to the forces headquarters yesterday by the IGP Monitoring team.
It is now public knowledge and no longer news that Sowore, whose only “crime” is that he continues to hold the government accountable and speaks truth to power—especially regarding the current IGP Kayode Egbetokun’s prolonged and controversial stay in office—was invited by the police over some phantom allegations lacking in both substance and legitimacy.
In his characteristic law-abiding manner, Sowore honoured the police invitation yesterday, August 6, 2025. But what followed was not the normal process of the law—it was the reenactment of the dark days of military tyranny, where state institutions become weapons of vengeance and vendetta.
After honouring the invitation, Sowore was detained overnight, and in the early hours of this morning, he was forcibly moved to an unknown God-knows-where, with such violent handling that it dislocated and severely injured his right arm. As if physical injury was not enough, it was gathered in this calculated attack on his life what is believed to be noxious gas was reportedly released into the cell where he was being held and the information reaching us now is that he has been moved to an underground cell.
Let it be clear: these are not accidents, nor negligence, or incompetence—this playing out events are vivid attempts on his health, his life, and his dignity.
We remember how Gani Fawehinmi, one of Nigeria’s boldest patriots, suffered irreversible damage to his health from toxic chemicals sprayed on him while in detention at Gashua Prison. We remember how MKO Abiola was subjected to similar poison tactics while in state custody. These are not coincidences. These are tactics of silence, tools of assassination, deployed by desperate regimes to eliminate voices they cannot defeat in open contestation of ideas.
READ ALSO: Reports say police broke Sowore’s hand during forced transfer from detention cell
We are watching history repeating itself.
The Nigeria Police Force has now descended from being a constitutional law enforcement body to becoming an execution squad for the enemies of democracy.
Let it be known to all, both home and abroad, that any harm that comes to Omoyele Sowore, in body or in spirit, will be fully accounted for, and the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector-General of Police, and those who ordered this atrocity will stand answerable before the law and before the people.
We warn the Nigeria Police to immediately shelve this satanic script of slow assassination, release Sowore unconditionally, and tender public apology for the cruel violation of his human rights and bodily safety.
This impunity will not pass silently.
SIGNED
TOPE TEMOKUN, ESQ.
Lawyer and Human Rights Activist.
August 7, 2025.
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