{"id":121312,"date":"2025-08-08T17:35:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T16:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=121312"},"modified":"2025-08-08T17:35:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T16:35:09","slug":"atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/","title":{"rendered":"Atiku demands unconditional release of Sowore"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>By Myke Agunwa<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to order the immediate and unconditional release of detained human rights activist and Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoleye Sowore.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Sowore, a former presidential candidate on the platform of African Action Congress (AAC) in 2023, was on Wednesday detained after honouring an invitation from the IGP Monitoring Unit at the Force Headquarters following allegations of forgery and criminal defamation.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It was earlier reported that the police allegedly broke his hand during an attempt to forcibly transfer him from custody to court on Thursday morning.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Reacting to the development, Atiku in a statement on his X handle on Thursday, described the treatment meted out to Sowore by the IGP Monitoring Team as &#8220;a shameful abuse of power. It is wrong, unlawful, and must be condemned by all who believe in justice\u201d.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Atiku said Sowore\u2019s only offence was speaking out against injustice, nepotism, and misrule. He lamented that the activist was reportedly attacked at dawn, beaten, had his arm broken, and sprayed with chemicals by policemen acting on petitions from the IGP\u2019s own office.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cThis is a personal vendetta, not policing,\u201d Atiku stated.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Even the Nigeria Police Regulation forbids this. Regulation 367 states: No police officer shall institute any legal proceeding in his own personal interest or in connection with matters arising out of his public duties.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cThe IGP cannot be a complainant and still deploy the force to carry out his grievance.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cThis is not about Sowore alone, it is an attack on every Nigerian who dares to speak truth to power.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cThis must stop. And Sowore should be released immediately, and unconditionally, too\u201d<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Myke Agunwa Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to order the immediate and unconditional release of detained human rights activist&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":120714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Atiku demands unconditional release of Sowore - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Atiku demands unconditional release of Sowore - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Myke Agunwa Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to order the immediate and unconditional release of detained human rights activist&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-08T16:35:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Atiku-2.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1020\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"headline\":\"Atiku demands unconditional release of Sowore\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-08T16:35:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/\"},\"wordCount\":286,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Atiku-2.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/\",\"name\":\"Atiku demands unconditional release of Sowore - Pointblank News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Atiku-2.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-08T16:35:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Atiku-2.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Atiku-2.webp\",\"width\":1360,\"height\":1020},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Atiku demands unconditional release of Sowore\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\",\"name\":\"Pointblank News\",\"description\":\"Just the news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\",\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Our Reporter\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Atiku demands unconditional release of Sowore - Pointblank News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Atiku demands unconditional release of Sowore - Pointblank News","og_description":"By Myke Agunwa Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to order the immediate and unconditional release of detained human rights activist&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/","og_site_name":"Pointblank News","article_published_time":"2025-08-08T16:35:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1360,"height":1020,"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Atiku-2.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Our Reporter","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Our Reporter","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/"},"author":{"name":"Our Reporter","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"headline":"Atiku demands unconditional release of Sowore","datePublished":"2025-08-08T16:35:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/"},"wordCount":286,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Atiku-2.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/","name":"Atiku demands unconditional release of Sowore - Pointblank News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Atiku-2.webp","datePublished":"2025-08-08T16:35:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Atiku-2.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Atiku-2.webp","width":1360,"height":1020},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/atiku-demands-unconditional-release-of-sowore\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Atiku demands unconditional release of Sowore"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/","name":"Pointblank News","description":"Just the news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c","name":"Our Reporter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Our Reporter"},"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121312"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121313,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121312\/revisions\/121313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}