Omoyele Sowore, Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Regains Freedom!

Date of Occurrence

December 24, 2019
State/Country

Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria

Image

Description

Nigerian publisher, Mr. Omoyele Sowore has finally regained freedom was on, December 24, 2019, after monthslong imprisonment by the Nigerian government.

''Omoyele Sowore, the founder of Sahara Reporters had been held for most of the past five months by Nigeria’s equivalent of the Secret Service, the Department for State Services. Two earlier court orders to release Mr. Sowore on bail had been ignored by the authorities.

At a court appearance on Dec. 6, Mr. Sowore, then temporarily free, was wrestled to the floor of a courtroom and taken into custody, an incident that stirred outrage when it was circulated on social media.

Mr. Sowore was arrested on Aug. 3, on one of his frequent trips to his native country, when he was about to lead a protest against the government with the social media tagline #RevolutionNow. His critics accuse him of trying to overthrow the Nigerian government rather than, as his supporters claim, merely pointing out government corruption and wrongdoing.''