Lagos, Nigeria –
Omoyele Sowore, convener of the #RevolutionNow protest, was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Sunday at Murtala Muhammed International Airport upon his return to Nigeria from the United States.
Sowore’s arrest is believed to be linked to his involvement in the 10-day #EndBadGovernance protest, which took place across the country in August. The protest was organized by the Take-It-Back Movement, a group spearheaded by Sowore, along with other civil society organizations. Another protest, planned by the same organizers, is scheduled for October 1.
In a post on his X page, Sowore revealed that he was detained by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and that his passport was seized. He claimed that the authorities informed him they had orders to detain him.
“I had just arrived in Nigeria from the USA… upon reaching Nigerian Immigration, my passport was seized, and they told me they had orders to detain me,” Sowore wrote.
He described the situation as part of a broader clampdown on dissent by what he referred to as the “fascist” regime of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Sowore urged Nigerians to resist tyranny through planned direct actions, starting with the #FearlessInOctober revolt slated for October 1.
This arrest marks the latest confrontation between Sowore and the Nigerian government, following previous detentions linked to his activism and protests against governance in the country.
