Human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, has been released from detention days after he was arrested for organising a protest demanding the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Sowore’s release was confirmed on Monday evening in Abuja, where he briefly addressed journalists.
He told reporters that he intends to join Lagos residents in a planned protest against the demolition of houses in Oworonshoki, a community recently hit by large-scale demolitions despite a subsisting court order halting the exercise.
His comments came shortly after the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, had issued a public warning to Sowore and his group against staging any protest in the state. The police had cautioned that anyone who attempted to disrupt public order would face arrest, stressing that vital infrastructures such as the Third Mainland Bridge must not be obstructed.
Residents of Oworonshoki had earlier postponed their planned demonstration after the police threatened arrests. The protest, supported by Sowore’s Take It Back Movement, was aimed at drawing attention to the demolition of homes and alleged disregard for a court injunction protecting several streets in the area.
A Lagos High Court had on 23 October 2025 granted an injunction restraining the state government and its agencies from further demolitions at Ajileru Street, Ososa Extension and Toluwalase Extension in the Oworonshoki community. Despite the order, more than 70 buildings were reportedly pulled down, leaving hundreds of residents homeless.
Sowore’s declaration sets the stage for a renewed confrontation between activists and law enforcement in Lagos, as the Take It Back Movement insists it will continue to mobilise citizens to resist “illegal demolitions and abuse of power.”
