Defamation: Police may detain Sowore on court’s order

By Kingsley Omonobi

There were indications last night that Nigerian Police authorities obtained a court order to detain human rights activist Omoyele Sowore, after he was invited for questioning over a petition alleging forgery and criminal defamation.

Sources said Sowore, who voluntarily honoured the invitation and arrived at the Force Headquarters in Abuja in the company of his legal team, A.K. Musa, Marshal Abubakar and several supporters, was asked to wait for a Deputy Inspector General of Police following his demand to see an original copy of the petition against him.

He told the Police that if he did not see the petition against him, he would not write his statement.

Consequently, the source said a valid court order approving Sowore’s detention was secured.

It was further gathered that Sowore’s lawyers requested to see the court order that granted the police to justify his detention, a request which the Police allegedly did not oblige them.

Sowore’s appearance and interrogation are taking place at the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) and sources said if the interrogation process is not completed on Wednesday, it will continue on Thursday.

When contacted for an update on the Police invitation and interrogation, a senior Police officer told Vanguard that the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Muyiwa Adejobi, was the right person to call.

However, when the FPRO was contacted via WhatsApp messages, he had not responded at the time of filing this story.

Recall that upon arrival, investigators reportedly stalled proceedings, claiming Sowore had to wait for the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) after the activist demanded to see the original copy of the petition and declined to make a statement without it.

Recall that the Police had invited Sowore to appear before the IGP Monitoring Unit in Abuja on August 4, 2025, over allegations of forgery and inciting disturbance with the letter referencing Section 53(2) of the “ACJA 2025′.

Sowore demanded a properly signed summons and a copy of the petition before he would consider showing up.

Another invitation was issued for August 5, accusing him of criminal defamation and forgery.

The new letter scheduled a meeting for August 6, 2025 at 11:30 am.

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