Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters, says he was brutalised by the police during his arrest on new year’s eve.
Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters, says he was brutalised by the police during his arrest on new year’s eve.
Mr Sowore spoke with journalists in court on Monday on his and other activists’ arrest by the police in Abuja.
The former presidential candidate said the encounter with the police convinced him that brutality of citizens by security operatives has not ended.
“The policemen that were brought to the place of the protest were beating people and I came down from my car where I was covering the protest to stop them from beating people.
“They pounced on me, and broke my nose. It was carried out by a mobile police officer who loaded about seven vehicles with mobile police officers well armed.
“It was an attempt to stop him from terrorising Nigerians in view of #EndSARS protest and the position of the country on police brutality that they pounced on me and broke my nose. When they took me to their Abattoir, I discovered that the Nigerian government has not ended SARS. They mobilised SARS to beat us up and force us into detention,” Mr Sowore said.
Citifiedblog reported how Mr Sowore and four others were arrested for participating in a protest on new year’s eve.
They spent four nights in detention and were eventually arraigned on Monday before a Magistrate Court in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja.
The police accused the protesters of unlawful assembly, criminal conspiracy and inciting public disturbance.
Mr Sowore and the other activists pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The magistrate, Taye Maibel, said all the charges are bailable, and ordered the defendants’ counsel to file a formal bail application before her at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday.
The court asked that the activists be taken to Kuje prison pending the hearing of their bail application. But at the facility, they were rejected for hours until the intervention of the ministry of interior.