The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the 2023 election, Omoyele Sowore, has been released after his arrest at Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos State.
Mr Sowore, in a statement on his X page received by the New Daily Prime, confirmed he was arrested and detained by the Nigerian Immigration Service on Sunday morning.
He 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.
“In case this becomes another prolonged and protracted detention, I urge our citizens to ensure they ALL stop tyranny by all means acceptable and necessary, by engaging in the planned series of direct actions slated for 1 October and beyond.”
The Punch newspaper reported that the memo for the arrest of Mr Sowore surfaced online on 12 September 2024. The memo ordered DSS to arrest him upon his arrival in Nigeria.
The paper added that Mr Sowore’s light left Washington Dulles International Airport at 6.14 EDT and arrived in Lagos at around 9.43am.
But in a recent X page, Mr Sowore announced he had been released by the Nigerian Immigration Service. He added that his passport had been released to him after it was earlier confiscated.
He wrote, “I have just been released by the Nigerian Immigration after a brief detention and my passport released back to me.”
