Lagos, NIGERIA — Omoyele Sowore, the 2019 and 2023 presidential candidate for the African Action Congress (AAC), was briefly detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) upon his arrival from the United States. Sowore, who left Washington Dulles International Airport at 6:14 AM EDT, landed at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammad International Airport around 9:43 AM WAT.
He was arrested shortly after his arrival at the airport in Ikeja, Lagos State, but was released moments later. The swift detention and release have sparked renewed tensions in Nigerian political circles.
His arrest followed reports earlier this month that the DSS had instructed airport security and immigration officials to arrest Sowore upon his return. The arrest directive, issued by the newly appointed DSS Director-General, Adeola Ajayi, is linked to Sowore’s involvement in the recent 10-day #EndBadGovernance protests.
In response, Sowore criticized the DSS on his X account, accusing the current administration under President Bola Tinubu of failing to effectively address terrorism, banditry, and kidnappings, while also noting that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has yet to take action against former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.
Sowore stated, “The lawless @OfficialDSSNG has upgraded my status and name on their ‘watchlist’ for arrest upon arrival in Nigeria.”
He emphasized that Nigeria needs significant reform and liberation, reiterating his intention to return home “very soon.”
Earlier in September, It reported that Nigeria’s secret police, DSS, had instructed airport security and immigration authorities to intercept and detain Sowore upon his arrival in Nigeria.
It was learnt that the directive, issued by the newly appointed DSS Director General, Adeola Ajayi, stemmed from Sowore’s role in the recent 10-day #EndBadGovernance protests.
The memo last Thursday read, “DSE: 94/6203 X WATCHLIST ACTION X EYE AM DIRECTED TO INFO Y OURS THAT X THE DGSS HAS APPROVED THE UPGRADING OF WLA
“’B’ (REPORT ARRIVAL AND DESTINATION BY TELEPHONE IMMEDIATE LY) TO WLA ‘F’ (DETAIN TRAVELER AND ESCORT WITH BAGGAGE TO NHSS) X VIDE DSE: 9A/6201 X AGAINST OMOYELE SOWORE X AN AC TIVIST/FOUNDER OF SAHARA REPORTERS INC. X AN ONLINE NEWS AGENCY X THIS IS FOR YOUR STRICT COMPLIANCE X PLEASE X.”
The memo was signed by Adeola D. Ali for NISEC NHSS.
Meanwhile, a trusted source at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos recently revealed to SaharaReporters that Ajayi had included Sowore’s name on a security watchlist, citing his involvement in the #EndBadGovernance protests and forthcoming October 1 demonstration as justification.
“The new DSS boss forwarded Sowore’s name to airport security for him to be arrested whenever he enters the country,” the source said.
During an interview on September 4, 2024, with Cordelia Okpei on “The Voice of the Peoples” programme, Sowore revealed startling information.
The human rights activist and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) confirmed that he had received credible intelligence that his name had been submitted to airport security personnel by the newly appointed DSS Director General.
According to Sowore, the directive mandates his immediate arrest upon arrival at the airport. Furthermore, Sowore criticised the new DSS helmsman for prioritising political vendettas over addressing the pervasive insecurity that has brought Nigeria to its knees.
He stated, “We have drawn our next protest which is in October. They called me several times. 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. I don’t have any other country other than Nigeria.
“So we have to face these guys down. We have seen many oppressors, bullies and tyrants in our lifetime. But that is not the issue; the issue is that these people have done more damage to the Nigerian civil populace than they have done to anywhere else.
“So I don’t know why I would be wasting my time advising the new guys there who came to do the bidding of the president. Even as I am speaking with you, the new DSS guy transmitted to the airport yesterday my name again just to refresh the memory of the security at the airport that if I come into the country, I should be arrested and brought to his office.”
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