Crime
Breaking: Deny Bail, Sowore Sleeps In Police Custody (IRT)
Breaking: Deny Bail, Sowore Sleeps In Police Custody (IRT)
Deny bail, Sowore sleeps in police custody. Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore is being detained at the Nigerian Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) office at Old Abattoir by Guzape Junction, Abuja, following his refusal to accept the bail conditions imposed by the police.
Sowore earlier announced that the police would hold him in custody until further notice due to the parties’ failure to reach an agreement on the bail conditions.
The former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) has described the bail conditions as “illegal”.
However, sources informed Reporters that Sowore was subsequently taken to the IRT office at Old Abattoir, a location previously used by the now-defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Abuja.
“Sowore is being detained at the IRT office in Apo, Abbatoir Police Station in Guzape,” one of sources said.
The conditions include producing a level 16 civil servant as a surety and surrendering his passport.
Sowore had honoured an invitation by the police over his exposé on officers allegedly extorting motorists along Ikeja, Lagos State.
However, he rejected the bail terms twice.
“He rejected their bail conditions twice because he is not prospered to honour any illegal bail conditions but as SaharaReporters had initially disclosed in its reports, the goal was to fly him to the Lagos State Criminal Investigation Department at the Commissioner’s Office and then charge him to court and not grant him bail,” a source privy to the situation told SaharaReporters on Monday.
Rejecting the bail conditions, Sowore via his X handle on Monday, said, “The PoliceNG team assigned to my case has informed me that the DIG of FID, Dasuki Galandachi, has reevaluated my bail conditions, necessitating the production of a level 16 civil servant and the surrender of my international passport, a condition I have declined outright.
“I refuse to participate in any arrangement that undermines my personal integrity.”
His legal counsel, Femi Falana (SAN), backed his stance, citing a Court of Appeal ruling in Dasuki v. Director-General.
Falana stated that such conditions had previously been declared illegal.
Earlier, Sowore rejected the initial bail conditions granted to him by the police – which asked him to present a level 17 Permanent Secretary – describing it as a joke.
In a post on his X handle, he said, “I have rejected a bail condition asking me to present a level 17 Permanent Secretary, instead I have offered to remain in police custody pending when the joke is over with.”
The police invitation to Sowore followed a viral video he recorded, highlighting extortion by police officers on the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Access Road in Lagos.
In their letter, the police claimed they are investigating Sowore for “resisting and obstructing public officers, disobedience to lawful order, acts intended to cause grievous harm or prevent arrest, compelling action by intimidation, reckless & negligent acts, refusal to assist public servant and cyberstalking in which your name featured, prominently”.
On Saturday, Reporters reported that Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, secretly planned to fly Sowore from Abuja to Lagos on Monday after he honours the police invitation on January 27, 2025.
Sources informed SaharaReporters on Saturday that the invitation is not related to the video but stems from a deep-seated personal grudge that Police Boss Egbetokun holds against the Publisher of SaharaReporters.
According to sources, the invitation is motivated by Sowore’s nickname for Egbetokun – “Illegal IG,” in reference to his tenure being extended beyond the retirement age.
For example, on December 20, 2024, Sowore called for the release of Olamide Thomas, a nurse detained for allegedly insulting President Bola Tinubu’s son, Seyi, as well as Egbetokun and the Force spokesman, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a social media post.
In the post, Sowore said, “The illegal IG of Nigeria Police Force, Kayode Egbetokun will make the next #ENDSARS inevitable! He is working tirelessly towards it. Just a matter of time! #EgbetokunMustGo #Revolution freeolamidenow.”
Sources close to the matter revealed that Egbetokun was still smarting from being labelled “Illegal IG” by Sowore, following the extension of his tenure beyond the mandatory retirement age.
“The plot being hatched by the inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun had nothing to do very much with the viral anti-extortion video for which Sowore has now been invited for interview on Monday at the Police Headquarters in Abuja,” a source told SaharaReporters on Saturday.
Sowore
Instead Reporters learnt from sources that the IGP “holds a very-very personal grudge against the publisher of SaharaReporters over his constant referral to him an ‘illegal IGP’”, a sobriquet Sowore adopted since last year when the IGP’s tenure was extended beyond his retirement age.
Also, according to sources, Egbetokun had been monitoring how to “deal” with Sowore and had informed senior police officers in his circle that he would take his pound of flesh whenever the opportunity arose.
However, the reality is that after Sowore encountered policemen engaging in illegal roadblocks and extortion on the way to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, all the policemen involved were rounded up and they confessed to their illegal acts.
“Their lead also told the police hierarchy that they recognised Sowore and let him go not knowing he caught them on tape operating an illegal checkpoint,” a source also said on Saturday.
“However, the DIG in charge of the Force Intelligence Department (FID) (DIG Dasuki D. Galadanchi); Chief Legal Officer of the NPF, Samuel Lough and the Force PRO (Adejobi) and the PSO (Principal Staff Officer – Johnson Adenola) to the IGP have been deliberating for weeks since the video went viral on how to get Sowore implicated in a string of crimes.
“They’ve also got the CPs of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Center (NPF-NCCC) and the IRT unit involved and deliberated for weeks on the best strategy to employ considering how delicate the situation is because of the public.”
The sources revealed that it was decided a few days ago that Sowore should be officially invited, interrogated, and detained in Abuja before being flown to Lagos to face trial.
According to them, the plan is for a judge to either deny him bail or set bail conditions so high that he would be remanded in prison custody for a while.
Oyo/Osun Customs Seizes Pistol, Magazines, Detonating Cords in N4.1bn Smuggling Interception
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Oyo/Osun Area Command, has intercepted a pistol, six pistol magazines, a pump-action magazine and 60 detonating cords among prohibited goods with a combined Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N4.1 billion, in a major anti-smuggling operation aimed at protecting national security.
Eereporter.com
The Acting Customs Area Controller (CAC), Oyo/Osun Command, Deputy Comptroller of Customs, Wale Adewole, disclosed this on Thursday, 17 September 2026, during a press briefing at the Command’s Operational Headquarters in Ibadan.
The seizure also included 573 Nigeria Police Force crests and 92 yards of police camouflage uniform fabric, raising concerns about criminal elements using security-related materials to impersonate law enforcement officers.
“We will continue to pay particular attention to items that have implications for national security and public safety, while ensuring that legitimate businesses and law-abiding members of the public are not unduly impeded,” Adewole said.
Other items intercepted included 2,012 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice, 550 bags of 25kg foreign parboiled rice, 2,440 wraps of Cannabis sativa, 1,150 used tyres, 17 used vehicles and 450 kegs of Premium Motor Spirit, totalling 5,000 litres.
The Command further seized 10 containers of corrosive mercury, 105 bales and 28 sacks of used clothing, as well as 48 packs of Tramadol. Adewole emphasised the importance of intelligence-driven enforcement and collaboration with sister security agencies in tackling smuggling.
Customs
Meanwhile, the Command generated N65.66 billion in revenue between January and August 2026, representing a 13.88 per cent increase from the N57.66 billion recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.
Adewole attributed the revenue growth to improved compliance, stakeholder engagement and trade facilitation, while reaffirming the Command’s commitment to combating smuggling, safeguarding national security and facilitating legitimate trade.
Eereporter.com
Police Arrest 47 for Impersonating State Security During Bauchi By-election
The Bauchi State Police Command has arrested 47 people allegedly posing as operatives of a state-owned security outfit during the by-election in Disina State Constituency, Shira Local Government Area of the state.
Eereporter.com
The suspects were arrested at various polling units on Saturday while allegedly armed with guns, cutlasses and sticks, contrary to the Electoral Act and security directives issued ahead of the election.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the command, SP Nafiu Habib, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.
Habib said, “Following our deployment for election duty in Disina State Constituency, Shira LGA, 47 operatives claiming to be members of a state-owned security outfit were arrested within polling units.
“They were found in possession of guns, cutlasses and sticks, in contravention of the Electoral Act and the security directives earlier issued.”
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The PPRO added that the suspects were immediately taken into custody, while firearms and other dangerous weapons were recovered from them.
He said, “The suspects were immediately taken into custody. Exhibits, including firearms and other dangerous weapons, were recovered from them.”
According to Habib, the Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, condemned the development and directed that the suspects be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.
Recovered weapons from the arrested suspects | Credit: Bauchi State Police Command
He quoted the CP as condemning “this blatant disregard for lawful directives and attempt to undermine the electoral process.”
Habib said the suspects had been transferred to the SCID, Bauchi, “for discreet investigation and prosecution in accordance with the law.”
The command reiterated its commitment to ensuring a peaceful, credible and hitch-free by-election.
It warned that “any person or group, regardless of status, who attempts to disrupt the electoral process or cause a breach of peace will be decisively dealt with.”
The police also called on members of the public to remain law-abiding and report suspicious activities to the authorities.
Police
PUNCH reports that the Bauchi State Police Command, in a statement issued on Friday, September 18, 2026, outlined security arrangements for the bye-elections in Disina State Constituency, Shira LGA, and Sakwa State Constituency, Zaki LGA.
In the statement, the command declared that “state-owned security outfits, quasi-security agencies, private security guards and vigilante groups are not allowed to participate in election security coverage.”
The command stated that only “statutorily recognised security agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security are mandated to provide security for the elections.”
Eereporter.com
Nigeria Customs Hits Economic Saboteurs, Seizes Cannabis, Others Worth ₦2.4bn in Ogun
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ogun I Area Command, has intensified its crackdown on smuggling and other forms of economic sabotage, recording seizures of contraband worth a combined Duty Paid Value (DPV) of ₦2.469 billion.
Eereporter.com
The Acting Customs Area Controller of the Command, Deputy Comptroller Oladapo Afeni, disclosed this on Thursday, 17 September 2026, during a press conference at the Command’s headquarters in Idiroko, where he reviewed its operational activities and achievements.
He said the seizures included 1,204 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 3,893 parcels of cannabis weighing 1.878 tonnes, 428 pneumatic tyres, 8,675 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), 24 bales of second-hand clothing, four sacks of used shoes and 500 litres of diesel.
Afeni said the seizures resulted from intelligence-led enforcement operations and improved inter-agency collaboration, stressing that the Command remained committed to strengthening border security while facilitating legitimate trade.
“Our concerted operational strategies, intelligence-led enforcement, and enhanced inter-agency collaboration have yielded remarkable, tangible results across all key focus areas,” he said
A major highlight of the seizure was the interception of a 2026 Range Rover Sport with a DPV of ₦417,011,982. “Our relentless anti-smuggling drives have dealt severe blows to illicit trade networks operating across Ogun State.”
In line with inter-Agency collaboration, the seized parcels of cannabis sativa were handed over to a representative of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further investigation.
Nigeria Customs
Receiving the items, the Commander, NDLEA Idiroko Special Command, Olasumbo Akande, urged Nigerians to join the campaign against rampant drug abuse. “Idiroko remains a no-go area.
The Nigeria Customs, NDLEA, and other sister agencies will always come together to say “No” to hard drugs coming into our country or using our border as a transit for illegal goods,” he said.
Eereporter.com
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