Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 election and convener of the #RevolutionNow Movement, was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, upon his arrival in Nigeria. Sowore, a known activist and critic of the government, had flown in from the United States on Sunday when officials from the Nigerian Immigration Service reportedly detained him and confiscated his international passport.
Sowore confirmed the incident through a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, where he detailed the sequence of events. According to him, the immigration officers acted under direct orders to hold him.
“I had just arrived in Nigeria from the USA at MMIA in Lagos; upon reaching Nigerian Immigration, my passport was seized, and they told me they had orders to detain me,” Sowore wrote. He went on to describe the incident as part of a broader campaign by the Nigerian government to suppress dissent.
Sowore alluded to the government’s apprehension over the planned #FearlessInOctober protest, saying, “This is not unexpected because I have always known that it is part of the broader clampdown by the fascist regime on dissent and their fear of the upcoming #FearlessINOctober revolt.” He also urged Nigerians to stand against tyranny by participating in the scheduled direct actions set for October 1 and beyond.
In his statement, Sowore further criticised the newly appointed Director of State Services (DSS) for focusing on political repression rather than tackling the country’s critical insecurity issues. He claimed that the security apparatus was prioritising political vendettas and that his name had been placed on a watchlist to prevent his free movement.
“They have my name at the airport. I am on their watchlist as I was told by several people. So, they will most likely arrest me when I return to Nigeria, but that will not stop me. I will go to Nigeria whenever I want to go to Nigeria, it is my country,” Sowore asserted.
He expressed his determination to continue his activism despite these challenges, stating, “We have seen many oppressors, bullies, and tyrants in our lifetime… the issue is that these people have done more damage to the Nigerian civil populace.”
As of the time of this report, neither the Nigerian Immigration Service nor the DSS has issued an official statement regarding Sowore’s arrest and the confiscation of his passport.
