By Opeyemi Adelakun
Human rights activist, publisher of Sahara Reporters and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, says he has been arrested so many times by Nigerian security agencies that he sometimes struggles to remember when some of the incidents occurred.
Speaking during an interview with StarnewsNG, Sowore described his numerous arrests and detentions as the price he has paid for challenging those in power and standing up against injustice.
“I’ve had quite a lot of issues,” he said. “Last year, 2025, I was arrested and detained four times, five times actually, by the Nigerian Police. I don’t know if I’ve been arrested this year yet. It happens so frequently I don’t even remember which year I am.”
The African Action Congress (AAC) chairman said his confrontations with the Nigerian state date back to his days as a student activist under military rule.
According to him, “I was arrested under the military. I spent about two weeks there. Kuje is officially the first prison I was booked into. That was the second time I was sent to prison because I also spent time in Kuje in 2021.”
Sowore also recalled his prolonged detention by the Department of State Services (DSS) following his 2019 arrest.
“I spent five months in DSS detention and solitary confinement in 2019,” he said.
Despite the repeated arrests, Sowore insisted that none of the cases stemmed from criminal conduct, maintaining that they were all linked to his political beliefs and activism.
“I’ve had quite a lot of issues. It’s largely political confrontations. In fact, all of my confrontations with the state have been as a result of political disagreements and the oppressive and high-handedness of vice-chancellors, military administrators, state governors, presidents, police commissioners, inspectors-general of police and all kinds of people in authority,” he said.
The activist, who has been at the forefront of several anti-government protests over the years, said he remains undeterred despite what he described as years of intimidation by successive administrations.
His comments come as debates continue over the treatment of activists, journalists and opposition figures in Nigeria, with rights groups repeatedly raising concerns about arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention and restrictions on freedom of expression.
Sowore has consistently maintained that activism is essential to holding governments accountable and has vowed to continue speaking out against corruption, abuse of power and policies he believes undermine democratic governance, regardless of the personal consequences.
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