The Nigerian Police Force said it arrested the human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, for luring protesters into a restricted area to protest in contravention of an order of a court.
It stated that the arrest of the former presidential candidate is to aid ongoing investigations conducted on the 13 protesters arrested during a demonstration for the release of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, from detention.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, who disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, stressed that the law enforcement agency would adhere to the law guiding suspects’ detention.
“Sowore has been arrested by the Nigeria Police Force, and the reason is that the 13 people who were arrested previously in connection to the “FreeNnadiKanu” protest gave their statements.
“From the statements, every one of them mentioned that one Sowore led them into the restricted area in contravention of the court order.
“So it would be most unfair to charge some people to court and leave the person who led them to commit the offence.
“And that’s why, in the spirit of fair play, and to ensure that justice is served, Sowore was arrested today,” he said.
According to the police spokesman, like the others, too, Sowore will not spend up to 24 hours with the police because we will arraign him as soon as we wrap up his charges.
“In fact, if everything goes right, our plan is to ensure that he’s arraigned today,” he said.
Hundeyin said 13 suspects had earlier been arrested in connection to the protest for violating an order of a court restricting protests in some areas in Abuja.
He said eight of the suspects were arrested on Monday around the Transcorp area of Abuja, while five others were arrested around the Ministry of Finance.
According to him, they were arrested because they contravened the court order that restricted movements within those areas despite several warnings.
He said the suspects were arraigned in court within 24 hours.
