Pat Stevens/
A viral video has shown the moment an unidentified man dressed like a lawyer struck pro-democracy activist, Omoyele Sowore, in the face during the melee that followed attempts by agents of the State Security Service (SSS) to rearrest him in court in Abuja today.
This is just as anxiety has continued to mount over the whereabouts of Sowore’s co-accused, Olawale Bakare after the SSS denied having him in its custody.
Reacting to the development, a member of Sowore’s legal team and a former National President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Abdul Mahmud, said the health of the activist has now become a cause for worry.
In a series of tweets on his handle, @AbdulMahmud01, Mahmud said, “Experts who’ve watched the many angles of a video of the melee inside the Courtroom this morning suspect that Sowore was either injected or struck with an object by a rogue lawyer.
“While efforts are being made to identify this rogue lawyer who was fully robbed (had his wig and gown on), Nigerians must demand that this government allows independent doctors from the NMA have access to Sowore to assess his health.
“There are, now, real concerns for his health and the whereabouts of Bakare who was snatched by the SSS in the melee. It denies it doesn’t have him.”
See video: