The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the 2023 election, Omoyele Sowore, was briefly detained by the Nigerian Immigration Service upon his arrival at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Sunday.
It was gathered that, the leader of the #RevolutionNow Movement’s detention occurred just as members of the Take It Back Movement and other activists had gathered at the airport to welcome him.
Sowore, who had been in the United States visiting his family, took off from Washington Dulles International Airport at 6:14 AM EDT and arrived in Lagos at around 9:43 AM WAT.
Speaking with Vanguard over the phone, Sowore confirmed that immigration officials had detained him and confiscated his passport.
He added that no specific reason was provided for his detention, with the authorities stating they were acting on orders from higher-ups and needed to consult Abuja for further instructions.
Sowore later revealed on his official X account that he had been detained by the Nigerian Immigration Service and had his international passport confiscated.
He wrote: “I had just arrived in Nigeria from the USA at MMIA in Lagos; upon reaching Nigerian Immigration, my passport was seized, and they told me they had orders to detain me.
“This is not unexpected because I have always known that it is part of the broader clampdown by the fascist @officialAbat regime on dissent and their fear of the upcoming #FearlessINOctober revolt.
“In case this becomes another prolonged and protracted detention, I urge our citizens to ensure they ALL stop tyranny by all means acceptable and necessary, by engaging in the planned series of direct actions slated for 1 October and beyond.”
Later, through his official X account, Sowore announced his release, writing, “I have just been released by the Nigerian Immigration after a brief detention and my passport released back to me. #RevolutionNow.”
