Says Sowore’s Arrest Inside Courtroom Is “A New Low… An Open Assault On Democracy”
Nigeria’s political space was set ablaze on Friday after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar issued a blistering condemnation of the re-arrest of human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, describing it as “a new low” and “an open assault on democracy.”
Atiku, visibly outraged in his statement, tore into the Bola Tinubu administration, accusing it of dragging the nation back into the dark trenches of military-style repression.
“I have just been informed of the arrest of human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, by the Nigeria Police, as well as the arrest of several other citizens who were peacefully protesting in different parts of the country,” Atiku said.
“I am shocked and disappointed, but not surprised. Shocked that in 2025, decades after we defeated military rule, this government still treats dissent as a crime. Disappointed because those in power today once thrived on protests. But not surprised, for Bola Tinubu continues to show Nigerians exactly who he is and what he intends to be, if we allow him.”
The former Vice President’s words cut like a blade — a direct and personal indictment of President Tinubu’s anti-democratic tendencies.
“Sowore’s arrest inside a courtroom is a new low, an open assault on democracy and a grave symbol of this administration’s contempt for the rule of law,” Atiku thundered.
“The arrest of other peaceful protesters across the country only deepens the stain. Protest is not a crime; it is a constitutional right.”
Atiku went further to accuse the government of terrorizing dissenting voices, warning that no democracy can survive under the weight of state tyranny.
“I therefore demand the immediate and unconditional release of Omoyele Sowore and all those arrested during and after the protest. This government must end its persistent harassment of dissenting voices,” he declared. “Democracy cannot coexist with tyranny.”
His final line landed like a hammer blow — a warning, a prophecy, and a dare.
Political observers say Atiku’s statement is the most searing public rebuke yet against the Tinubu administration’s deepening intolerance for opposition.
Sowore’s re-arrest — carried out within court premises moments after a magistrate granted him bail — has drawn nationwide outrage, with eyewitnesses describing how police punched, dragged, and bundled the activist into a waiting van in full public glare.
Civil rights groups have since called it “a national embarrassment” and “the most shameful display of police lawlessness under Tinubu’s watch.”
Atiku’s outburst, however, has transformed outrage into a political reckoning. His words echo the fears of millions of Nigerians who now believe that the democratic space is shrinking under Tinubu faster than ever before.
“Those in power today once thrived on protests,” Atiku reminded. “Now, they treat the same voices of dissent as enemies of the state. But Nigerians see through the hypocrisy. We have seen this movie before — and we know how it ends.”
With that, Atiku did not just condemn Sowore’s arrest; he placed Tinubu’s government squarely on trial before the Nigerian people.
