The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Federal Government (FG) to immediately release activist and journalist Omoyele Sowore and withdraw all criminal defamation and cybercrime charges against him following his remand by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
The development came after Justice Mohammed Umar on Monday ordered Sowore’s remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the determination of his application seeking a stay of execution of an earlier order that revoked his bail.
The court also dismissed an application requesting the judge’s recusal from the case over alleged bias, allowing proceedings to continue despite objections from the defence.
Reacting to the ruling, SERAP condemned the decision, insisting that Sowore is being detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his fundamental rights.
In a statement signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation expressed concern over what it described as an escalating crackdown on civil liberties in Nigeria.
“We are concerned about the escalating crackdown on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association and media freedom and the flagrant disregard for the rule of law by Nigerian authorities,” the statement read.
SERAP called on the administration of President Bola Tinubu to discontinue the prosecution and release Sowore unconditionally, arguing that authorities are increasingly using criminal defamation and cybercrime laws to silence journalists, bloggers, activists, and human rights defenders.
“Nigerian authorities must immediately release Sowore and drop all the bogus charges against him. Authorities must stop weaponizing criminal defamation and cybercrime laws to target and attack journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders and activists and stop detaining and imprisoning them solely for doing their jobs,” the group stated.
The organisation further warned that the growing use of such laws risks undermining democratic accountability and creating a chilling effect on public discourse. It stressed that public officials must tolerate a higher level of scrutiny and criticism in any democratic society, adding that legal mechanisms should never be used to punish dissent.
SERAP also raised concerns about threats to journalists’ safety and what it described as increasing harassment and intimidation of media practitioners and civil society actors.
It urged the government to ensure full respect for constitutional guarantees, including the rights to liberty, fair trial, freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.
The group called for urgent reforms to the Official Secrets Act, the Criminal Code Act, and the Cybercrime Act, arguing that several provisions may be inconsistent with international human rights standards and could be misused to restrict free speech.
Sowore, who is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS), is facing allegations of criminal defamation after reportedly describing President Bola Tinubu as “a criminal” in posts shared on his social media platforms. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Following Monday’s court proceedings, supporters of the activist alleged that DSS operatives attempted to take him into custody within the court premises despite the remand order, raising further tensions around the case.
SERAP maintained that the government must end what it described as “authoritarian practices” and ensure that individuals are not subjected to arrest or intimidation for expressing dissenting views or engaging in public-interest advocacy.