Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, was briefly detained at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Sunday, September 17, 2023.
The activist and politician was reportedly taken into custody by immigration officers shortly after landing from the United States.
Sowore took to his social media account shortly after the incident to explain what happened. He stated that upon arriving in Lagos and passing through immigration, his passport was confiscated, and he was informed that there were orders to arrest him.
“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,” Sowore posted.
According to Sowore, this development did not come as a surprise. He believes it is part of a broader effort by the current government to suppress dissent. He referred to the administration as a “fascist regime” and mentioned the upcoming protests planned for October 1.
“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,” Sowore added.
