Civil rights organisation, Justice Minded (JUSMind), has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Nigerian Police Force and the Federal Government to release detained activist Omoyele Sowore and other protesters arrested during the recent #FreeNnamdiKanuNow demonstration in Abuja.
In a strongly worded statement signed by its Convener, Adeoye Ade-Adewummi, JUSMind condemned the arrest and detention of Sowore and others as “unlawful, politically motivated, and a direct assault on Nigeria’s democracy.”
The group described the arrests as a blatant violation of the constitutionally guaranteed rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association. It further warned that failure to release the detainees within 48 hours would lead to massive nationwide and international protests against what it called “the government’s growing culture of repression.”
“The right to peaceful protest is not a privilege granted by the state — it is a fundamental right guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended),” the statement read. “No administrative authority, police directive, or judicial order can lawfully override these rights, certainly not for political convenience.”
JUSMind also called on the United Nations, African Union, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other global human rights institutions to intervene and hold the Nigerian government accountable for what it described as a pattern of systematic human rights violations.
The organisation accused the police of using a “legally baseless and morally indefensible” justification for Sowore’s arrest. Police spokesperson CSP Benjamin Hundeyin had earlier said Sowore was arrested for leading protesters into a restricted area, which he claimed violated a court order.
JUSMind rejected that reasoning, saying the police had “no lawful authority to criminalise peaceful assembly” and accused security agencies of weaponising law enforcement to silence dissenting voices.
“The arrest of Omoyele Sowore is not an isolated incident; it forms part of a worrying pattern of shrinking civic space and systematic repression of dissenting voices in Nigeria,” the group said.
The statement outlined five key demands, including:
- Immediate and unconditional release of Sowore and all detained protesters.
- Public apology and accountability for the unlawful arrests and excessive use of force.
- A reaffirmation of citizens’ rights to peaceful protest and free expression.
- Independent investigations by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Assembly Committees on Human Rights.
- International intervention by UN and AU bodies to halt Nigeria’s human rights backslide.
The group further urged the Nigerian Judiciary to resist political pressure and protect the rule of law, stressing that “the courts must not become enablers of authoritarianism.”
“Nigeria cannot claim to be a democracy while it continues to punish citizens for exercising their conscience and demanding justice,” JUSMind stated. “The continued detention of peaceful protesters is an affront to the Constitution, a betrayal of democratic ideals, and a stain on the nation’s global image.”
The arrest of Sowore — a former presidential candidate and publisher of SaharaReporters — has drawn widespread condemnation from civil society and political figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who joined Amnesty International in demanding his release.
Observers warn that the situation could escalate further if the government fails to heed growing calls for justice.
“The Nigerian people will not remain silent while their freedoms are stripped away under the guise of law and order,” JUSMind concluded. “To criminalise peaceful protest is to criminalise democracy itself.”