A FORMER African Action Congress presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, said he rejected a stringent bail condition offered to him by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on Monday, January 27.
The NPF had invited Sowore to its headquarters in Abuja following his confrontation with some of its officers on the Lagos Airport Road.
The police said the invitation, dated January 23, 2025, was in connection with allegations of “resisting and obstructing public officers, disobedience to lawful order, acts intended to cause grievous harm or prevent arrest, compelling action by intimidation, reckless and negligent acts, refusal to assist public servant, and cyberstalking.”
The invitation letter, signed by Ibitoye Rufus Alajide, requested Sowore to report to the Force Intelligence Department (FID) at 10 a.m. on January 27.
But in a tweet on his X handle, hours after he honoured the invitation, the activist said the NPF requested that he deposit his international passport and provide a level 17 civil servant as a guarantor for bail.
He said he rejected the conditions and opted to remain in police custody.
“I have rejected a bail condition asking me to present a level 17 permanent secretary. Instead, I have offered to remain in police custody pending when the joke is over,” he posted.
The ICIR reports that the police action followed a video posted by Sowore on January 9, in which he confronted some officers for blocking the Airport Road.
In the video, some gun-wielding policemen directed the vehicle conveying Sowore to park.
The activist declined the order and said it was wrong for the police to block an airport road.
“We are not parking. You are not supposed to be here. We are not parking. You are not supposed to be causing traffic on the Airport Road. We are not parking. Go and bring your Oga. You people should calm down.”
However, despite Sowore’s objections, the officers stood in front of his car, demanding he park, but the activist refused and insisted they clear the road.
Eventually, one of the officers standing by the roadside instructed his colleagues to let him proceed.
The activist is known for his outspokenness on governance and social justice through his #RevolutionNow movement.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance
The Nigerian Police Force (NPF) has been a nuisance on the highways across the country and causing severe unsafely situation to Nigerians daily.