A civil rights organisation, Justice Minded (JUSMind), has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Nigerian Police and Federal Government to release detained human rights activist Omoyele Sowore and other protesters arrested during the recent #FreeNnamdiKanuNow demonstration in Abuja.
In a statement signed by its Convener, Adeoye Ade-Adewummi, the group described the arrests as “unlawful, unconstitutional, and an assault on citizens’ rights to freedom of expression and assembly.”
JUSMind condemned the police’s actions, accusing the authorities of “political repression” and “shrinking civic space” in Nigeria. The organisation also called on the United Nations, African Union, and international human rights bodies to intervene and hold the Nigerian government accountable for its growing record of civil rights violations.
“The right to peaceful protest is not a privilege granted by the state—it is a fundamental right guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the group said.
“No administrative authority, police directive, or judicial order can lawfully override these rights except as permitted by the Constitution—and certainly not for political convenience.”
The organisation listed five key demands:
Immediate and unconditional release of Omoyele Sowore and all detained protesters.
Public apology and accountability for unlawful arrests and police brutality.
Reaffirmation of citizens’ constitutional rights to protest and free expression.
Independent investigation by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Assembly Committees on Human Rights into police repression.
International intervention by the UN Human Rights Council, AU, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The statement warned that failure to comply within 48 hours would trigger nationwide and diaspora-led protests, coordinated through lawful and peaceful means.
“The Nigerian people will not remain silent while their freedoms are stripped away under the guise of ‘law and order,’” JUSMind declared.
“History has shown that the will of the people is stronger than the machinery of repression.”
The group also urged the judiciary to uphold its independence and resist political manipulation, describing the courts as “the last refuge for the oppressed, not a tool in the hands of the oppressor.”
JUSMind concluded by calling on Nigerians, civil society organisations, and the international community to stand together in defence of democracy and human rights.
“To criminalise peaceful protest is to criminalise democracy itself,” the statement added.
