Omoyele Sowore Released Minutes After Arrest at Lagos Airport
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Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the 2023 election, was arrested and released minutes later on Sunday at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos State.
Sowore had arrived in Nigeria from the United States, and upon reaching the Nigerian Immigration desk, his passport was seized, and he was informed of orders to detain him. He took to social media to share his experience, stating that the arrest was not unexpected, given the government’s clampdown on dissent.
In a post, Sowore wrote: “I had just arrived in Nigeria from the USA at MMIA in Lagos; upon reaching Nigerian Immigration, my passport was seized, and they told me they had orders to detain me. This is not unexpected because I have always known that it is part of the broader clampdown by the fascist @officialAbat regime on dissent and their fear of the upcoming #FearlessINOctober revolt.”
Sowore’s flight had left Washington Dulles International Airport at 6:14 EDT and arrived in Lagos at around 9:43 am. A leaked DSS memo on Thursday, September 12, 2024, had revealed plans to arrest Sowore upon his arrival in Nigeria.
However, in a surprising turn of events, Sowore was released minutes after his arrest. The circumstances surrounding his brief detention and release remain unclear.
Sowore had urged citizens to engage in a series of direct actions slated for October 1 and beyond, in case his detention became prolonged. His release has sparked relief among supporters, but concerns about the government’s stance on freedom of expression and assembly persist.
