…Why Sowore was arrested – Police
The Nigeria Police Force have revealed the reason it arrested the human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, in a media conference on Thursday said they arrested Sowore for luring protesters into a restricted area to protest in contravention of an order of a court.
“Sowore has been arrested by the Nigeria Police Force, and the reason is that the 13 people that 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 that 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.
The police mouthpiece stressed that like others too, Sowore will not spend up to 24 hours with the police because they will arraign him as soon as they conclude his charges.
“In fact, if everything goes right, our plan is to ensure that he’s arraigned today,” he said.
According to the Force spokesman, 13 suspects had earlier been arrested in connection to the protest for violating an order of a court restricting protest in some areas in Abuja.
He further explained that eight of the suspects were arrested on Monday around the Transcorp area of Abuja, while five others were arrested around the Ministry of Finance.
Hundeyin maintained that they were arrested because they contravened the court order that restricted movements within those areas despite several warnings, adding that the suspects were arraigned in court within 24 hours.
