By Abiola Olawale
Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, has condemned the arrest and detention of activist and Publisher of United States based Sahara Reporters, Mr Omoyele Sowore.
This is as Obi, who is also a former a two-term governor of Anambra State, labelled the arrest as a “miscarriage of justice” and a blatant “abuse of state power.”
In a statement shared on Thursday, Obi said he was “deeply disturbed to learn of the arrest of Mr. Omoyele Sowore @YeleSowore yesterday, shortly after he voluntarily honoured an invitation by the Nigerian Police Force.”
He added: “At the time of writing, no clear or credible charges have been made public, which casts a troubling shadow over the nature and motivation behind his detention.
“From all indications, no urgency or criminal flight risk warranted such high-handed treatment.”
“To detain a citizen who came of his own accord, without the public disclosure of clear, lawful charges, is not only a miscarriage of justice but an abuse of state power.
“Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as it first resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens.
“When those entrusted with power act unjustly, they poison not only the legal order but the moral conscience of the nation.”
“I therefore call on the Nigerian Police to immediately release Omoyele Sowore or charge him formally under the law.
“Anything short of this would be a further erosion of public trust in the nation’s law enforcement institutions.”
