Rights activist Omoyele Sowore has announced that his passport has been returned to him by officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service.
In a tweet shared on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Friday evening, Sowore revealed the development following an earlier report that his passport had been seized.
“The #nigimmigration has since released my International passport, and I flew out of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport shortly after the encounter,” the tweet read.
Before now, Sowore stated that he was being subjected to harassment and violation of his rights by the NIS.
Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the 2023 election, Omoyele Sowore, tweeted, “The Nigerian Immigration Service #nigimmigration continues to subject me to unwarranted harassment and abuse. Violating my rights repeatedly.
“Today, again, they stopped me on my way out of Nigeria, claiming I am placed on their WATCHLIST!”
In the video, Omoyele Sowore can be seen questioning an officer of the Nigerian Immigration Service, demanding to speak with a superior regarding the seizure of his passport.
This incident is not the first time the former presidential candidate has had his passport withheld by Nigerian authorities. In February 2024, the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed treasonable felony charges filed against Sowore and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare, also known as Mandate. These charges were brought by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari following their planned #RevolutionNow protest in 2019.
Sowore and Mandate were arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) during a midnight raid in Lagos ahead of the planned protest.
