The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on Nigerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release journalist and activist Omoyele Sowore, who was reportedly detained by the police on Wednesday.
In a statement on Thursday, SERAP condemned the arrest and demanded that all charges against Sowore be dropped, describing his detention as a violation of both the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights obligations.
“The Nigerian police must end the persecution of Sowore solely for the peaceful exercise of his human rights,” the organization said, noting that his continued detention contravenes provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, all of which prohibit arbitrary detention.
SERAP stressed that no individual should be arrested or detained merely for exercising their right to freedom of expression, and urged the government to uphold the rule of law and protect the fundamental rights of all citizens.
The group described Sowore’s detention as a “travesty of justice” and insisted on his immediate release.
