Sowore Demands Release of 12 Ebonyi Residents Detained for Attending Nnamdi Kanu's Court Hearing

Human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has accused the Department of State Services (DSS) of illegally detaining 12 Nigerian citizens from Ebonyi State at the Wawa Barracks detention facility in Niger State for four years without charge or trial. Sowore made the demand for their release via a post shared on his verified Twitter account on Sunday.

The individuals were reportedly arrested in Lokoja, Kogi State in 2021 while traveling to Abuja to attend a court hearing for detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu. The detainees include Wisdom Ezik, Kenneth Ojima, Chinedu Nwoba, Sampson David, Ogbonnaya Aja, Joseph Awok, Chinoso Oyibe, Joseph Okezi, and two unidentified drivers.

Sowore described their detention without trial as a gross violation of their constitutional rights and called for their immediate and unconditional release, urging the federal government to compensate them for the prolonged incarceration. He also demanded the identification and prosecution of DSS officials involved in the detentions and called for the closure of the Wawa Barracks facility, which he alleged to be a center for human rights abuses.