Just In:Amnesty International Demands Immediate Release of Sowore, Condemns Detention

‎ ‎ Amnesty International has called on Nigerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, describing his detention as arbitrary and a violation of his fundamental human rights.

‎ ‎The rights group made the call after the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered Sowore's remand at Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing of his application challenging the revocation of his bail and the bench warrant issued against him. ‎ ‎Sowore is facing cyberbullying charges over social media posts in which he allegedly referred to President Bola Tinubu as "a criminal." ‎ ‎Amnesty International argued that Sowore is being prosecuted solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, insisting that his continued detention violates protections guaranteed under Nigeria's Constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.

‎ ‎The organisation also expressed concern over what it described as a growing crackdown on civic space, warning that the detention could intimidate journalists, activists, and civil society organisations working to promote transparency and accountability. ‎ ‎Amnesty urged the Nigerian government to drop all charges against Sowore, ensure due process, and refrain from using the criminal justice system to silence critics, stressing that freedom of expression is essential to democracy and the rule of law.