Police officers in Abuja on Friday re-arrested human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, moments after he was granted bail by the Kuje Magistrate Court.

Naijaonpoint reports that the incident happened outside the court premises where Sowore and 13 others had just been released on bail.

According to Sahara Reporters, the officers, led by CSP Ilyasu Barau, the Investigating Police Officer from the Anti-Vice Unit of the FCT Command, attacked and forced Sowore into a waiting police van shortly after the bail ruling.

The activist, who was still completing his bail procedures, reportedly resisted as the officers dragged and punched him before taking him away.

Eyewitnesses claimed that when Sowore’s legal team requested to see the remand order, the officers refused to present any document but insisted they were acting on a directive to transfer him to the Kuje Correctional Centre.

Lawyers and supporters at the scene alleged that the police ignored the court’s decision and acted unlawfully.

Naijaonpoint reports that earlier in the day, Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’id had granted bail to Sowore and other defendants arrested during the recent #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in Abuja.

The court ordered each of them to pay ₦500,000 and provide a verified National Identification Number, a three-year tax clearance, and their international passports as part of the bail conditions.

Those granted bail alongside Sowore include Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, his brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, and 11 others.

They were charged with unlawful assembly and disturbance of public peace.