ABUJA, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Nigerian security agents arrested
Omoyele Sowore, an activist, news organisation founder and
former presidential candidate who was calling for revolution,
the security agency said on Sunday.
Sowore, a human rights activist who founded Nigerian online
news organisation Sahara Reporters and ran for president as a
minor candidate in the February election, was arrested by the
State Security Service on Saturday.
The detention comes as President Muhammadu Buhari, who won a
second term in the election, faces criticism for his
administration's record on human rights, particularly a lethal
crackdown on protesting followers of a Shi'ite leader who
remains in detention despite a court order that he be freed.
Sowore has said Nigeria needs revolution partly because the
elections were not credible, along with a list of other issues
ranging from corruption to ineptitude.
"We don't want war," he said in a July video. "We want a
very clean, quick, succinct revolutionary process - surgical.
That we put an end to the shenanigans of government, that we put
an end to oppression, the corruption of government."
Sowore had planned for a nationwide series of protests to
take place on Monday.
The State Security Service said the calls for revolution
were unlawful.
"He's with us," said a spokesman, confirming the arrest.
"He has crossed the line, he has threatened public safety...
Nothing will happen, there won't be any revolution. The
government, which has been elected democratically, will be in
place."