Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, has been arrested upon his arrival in Nigeria. Sources confirm that Sowore was detained on Sunday morning at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos.
Sowore’s flight departed from Washington Dulles International Airport at 6:14 a.m. EDT and landed in Lagos around 9:43 a.m. WAT.
His arrest comes days after a leaked memo from the Department of State Services (DSS) on Thursday, 12 September 2024, revealed plans to apprehend him upon his return.
In a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Sowore confirmed the incident, stating that the Nigerian Immigration Service had seized his passport and detained him on orders from above.
“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 wrote.
He further added, “This is not unexpected as it is part of the broader clampdown by the fascist regime on dissent, fearing the upcoming #FearlessINOctober revolt.”
Sowore urged citizens to stand against what he described as tyranny, calling for participation in planned protests starting on October 1.
