PRESS STATEMENT
24 October 2025
#FreeOmoyeleSowore #FreeNnamdiKanu #FreeAloyEjimakor
No to the criminalization of protest!
The Revolutionary Socialist Movement (RSM) strongly condemns the arrest and detention of Omoyele Sowore. According to reports reaching us, he is being held at the notorious IRT facility, known for cruelty and torture.
According to his lawyer, after the court appearance in the case FRN v. Omoyele Sowore & Sahara Reporters, men of the Nigeria Police approached Sowore and his team in front of the Federal High Court, claiming that the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, wanted to see him. This action by the Nigerian police clearly demonstrates their disregard for the rule of law.
After spending almost a day in detention, Omoyele Sowore was released on self-recognition. Shockingly, however, police officers later caused a commotion in the court premises and violently re-arrested him.
We strongly condemn this arrest and detention. It constitutes an attack on the democratic rights of the people. Protest is the oxygen of democracy. The allegation that Sowore disobeyed a court order is untenable and exposes the desperation of the Nigerian police to target anyone who dares to stand up against the corrupt regime. If contempt of court is alleged, should it not be reported to the same court? Since when did the police take over the role of enforcing civil contempt?
The arrest and re-arrest of Omoyele Sowore at the court premises represent yet another episode in the ongoing, state-sanctioned harassment of peaceful protesters and activists in Nigeria.
To justify this latest assault on fundamental rights, the Police have claimed that O. Sowore breached a court order by leading protesters into a restricted area. Even if that allegation were true, the Police have no lawful authority to interpret and enforce contempt arising from a civil matter unilaterally. Sowore’s arrest was not only arbitrary — it was unlawful. The case referenced by the Police, FRN v. Sowore, was filed under the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules and is not a criminal proceeding. Therefore, any alleged violation of the order could at most constitute civil contempt ex facie curiae — that is, an alleged disobedience occurring outside the court’s presence.
Moreover, it is absurd that the state now claims the right to dictate where citizens may protest in a so-called democratic setting. We reject this completely.
We also demand the immediate release of Aloy Ejimakor and all others unjustly arrested during the protests. It is outrageous that people are arrested and summarily imprisoned simply for exercising their constitutional right to protest.
We state with determination that freedom of expression is a right, not a privilege. The continued incarceration and harassment of protesting citizens mark a dangerous slide toward authoritarianism. Today, they target certain individuals. Tomorrow they will attack all of us. Huge sacrifices were made in Nigeria to establish democratic rights, that are now being attacked. We should not let that happen.
The Revolutionary Socialist Movement (RSM) calls on all suffering Nigerians to unite and raise their voices for the release of everyone arrested and detained for exercising their democratic rights. Protest remains a fundamental right of the people and must not be criminalized.
We demand the immediate release of Omoyele Sowore, Nnamdi Kanu, and all others unjustly detained in connection with the Nnamdi Kanu protest. As we write, we are deeply concerned for the safety of Omoyele Sowore, given the Gestapo-style manner in which he was abducted at the Kuje Magistrate Court earlier today.
There is no doubt that the corrupt regime of Bola Ahmed Tinubu continues to repress the people in order to maintain its looting and protect its loyal enablers. A clear example is the extension of the tenure of Inspector General of Police, Mr. Egbetokun, who has consistently used his office to oppress citizens and act as an enforcer for the regime.
We call on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to rise to the occasion and mobilize workers in concrete solidarity action to defend democratic rights. The labour movement and the Left must take up the task of building a genuine working-class alternative capable of wresting power from the corrupt gangs that have turned Nigeria into a crime scene. The only path out of this deepening oppression is through building such a political movement — one that can establish a society where the democratic rights of working people are supreme- a socialist society.
Salako Kayode
Publicity Secretary
RSM
