Human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has been detained by the Nigerian police in Abuja.
The New Daily Prime earlier reported that Sowore, on Monday, rejected his bail conditions, which required him to surrender his international passport and present a Level 17 civil servant as surety after his interrogation.
The Ondo-born politician further announced on his X account that a team assigned to his case had informed him of a reevaluation of the bail conditions by the DIG of FID, Dasuki Galandachi.
The updated conditions demanded the production of a Level 16 civil servant and the surrender of his international passport.
Sowore reiterated his refusal to comply with the conditions, stating that he would not participate in any arrangement that undermined his personal integrity.
READ ALSO: Police grants Sowore bail; activist rejects ‘unreasonable conditions’
As a result of his rejection of the bail terms, Sowore remains detained at the Abattoir Police Station in Guzape, Abuja—a facility previously used by the now-defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), notorious for the human rights abuses perpetrated by its officers.
Falana condemns conditions
Meanwhile, Sowore’s lawyer, Femi Falana, highlighted that such bail conditions were declared illegal by the Court of Appeal in the case of Dasuki v. Director-General, S.S.S. [2020] 10 NWLR Pt. 1731, pp. 136–143.
In that case, Adah JCA (now JSC) ruled as follows: “Let me quickly say that of concern it is to us that as a court we must be ready and sensitive enough not to allow or do anything that will run foul of the law. The issue of involving civil servants or Public Officers in the Public Service of the Federation and the State in bail of people accused of criminal offences has never been the practice in Nigeria or any part of the civilized world.
“It was an oversight on our part to allow it in. Our Civil and Public Service Rules do not have any room for it. Expecting a Level 16 Servant to own property worth N100,000,000, will be running counter to the Public Service Rules and by extension the war against corruption.
READ ALSO: Police summons Sowore for disobeying police order
“It is in this respect that I will act ex debito justitiae to ensure that the aspect of involving serving Public Servant below the status of Level 16 Officer in either the state or Public Service of the Federation or any of its agencies be removed and I so order.”
