ORDER SHOPPING IN SOWORE’S CASE; NJC MUST STOP THE ABUSE OF REMAND ORDERS BY JUDGES

PRESS STATEMENT

ORDER SHOPPING IN SOWORE’S CASE; NJC MUST STOP THE ABUSE OF REMAND ORDERS BY JUDGES

August 7, 2025

Nigerians, we are forced to raise our voice; not out of habit, but out of necessity. The recent police assault and detention of Comrade Omoyele Sowore, has exposed, yet again, a growing pattern of institutional betrayal; not just by the Nigeria Police Force, but also by certain judicial officers who on records have turned themselves into tools of oppression.

It must be stated without ambiguity; the Police may carry out the arrests, but it is the courts that sometimes give them the cover to detain, harass, and silence citizens through the indiscriminate issuance of remand orders.

This practice, known as “order shopping”, has now become a ritual of repression; where the Police roam from one court to another, hunting for judges willing to sign off on their illegality, often without giving the affected person a chance to be heard.

This is a direct attack on the Constitution; on justice; and on our collective freedom.

We are calling on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to wake up and act decisively. The NJC cannot continue to look away while some judges are being used to launder police brutality and human rights violations.

We demand the following;

1. That the NJC issues a clear directive to all Magistrates and Judges across the country; No arbitrary remand orders should be granted against Omoyele Sowore who is not a criminal and who will always show up when invited. No ex parte detention applications. No shortcuts to injustice;
2. That the NJC begins to monitor and discipline judicial officers who continuously grant police remand requests without scrutinizing the merit, facts, or constitutionality of those applications;
3. That the Judiciary must remember; it is not an arm of the executive. It is not an extension of the Police. It is the last refuge of the people.

We are not asking for favours; we are demanding fidelity to the Constitution. The Judiciary must not lend its robes to tyranny.

To every judge reading this; the pen you use to sign that remand order may be the same tool used to ruin a life, bury a voice, or destroy a future. The responsibility is heavy. Carry it with conscience.

Let the case of Sowore be the last time the Police find comfort in the silence or complicity of the courts.

Signed;
Juwon Sanyaolu
National Coordinator,
TakeItBack Movement.