Sun Sep 15 10:43:00 UTC 2024: ## Sowore Detained and Released Upon Arrival in Nigeria
**LAGOS, NIGERIA** – Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the 2023 election, was detained by Nigerian Immigration authorities upon his arrival at Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos on Sunday morning.
Sowore, who had just returned from the United States, reported that his passport was seized and he was told he was being detained on orders from the government. He attributed the arrest to a broader crackdown on dissent by the current regime.
“This is not unexpected because I have always known that it is part of the broader clampdown by the fascist @officialAbat regime on dissent and their fear of the upcoming #FearlessINOctober revolt,” Sowore wrote on social media.
A leaked memo from the Department of State Services (DSS) on Thursday, 12 September, had indicated that Sowore’s arrest was planned upon his arrival.
However, in a subsequent post, Sowore announced his release and the return of his passport.
“I have just been released by the Nigerian Immigration after a brief detention and my passport released back to me,” he wrote.
The reasons for Sowore’s detention and subsequent release remain unclear.
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