During a court appearance on Thursday, well-known Nigerian TikToker Olumide Ogunsanwo, also known as Seaking, was arrest again on suspicion of exposing police corruption in recent social media posts.
Human rights advocate Omoyele Sowore revealed the news on his X (formerly Twitter) account, denouncing the detention as an effort to stop critics of the Nigerian Police Force from speaking out.
Seaking’s most recent detention, according to Sowore, was the result of Force Public Relations Officer (PPRO) ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who used cybercrime charges as a pretext to hold him once more.
In a court appearance today, @PoliceNG in Lagos arrested @seaking303 on suspicion of cybercrime after he made recent social media remarks on police corruption. Sources claim that Force PPRO Adejobi Olumuyiwa @Princemoye1 was responsible for this most recent arrest.
“We demand that the police immediately free @seaking303 and cease berating Nigerians with accusations of cybercrime,” he added.
Seaking was first taken into custody on December 20, 2024, and on December 23, 2024, he was arraigned in Ogba Magistrate Court in Lagos, according to reports. Due to a widely shared TikTok video in which he allegedly urged young Nigerians to fight police harassment by hurling stones at officers who insist on checking their phones, he was charged with treason and cyberstalking.
In spite of Inspector Christopher John, the police prosecutor, urging a 30-day remand, the judge granted him release. Administrative procedures and holiday holidays, however, caused a delay in his release.
After meeting the requirements of his bail, Seaking was released from Kirikiri Maximum Security Custodial Center on January 6, 2025, according to his attorney, Inibehe Effiong.
“Effiong said, ‘We just left the Maximum Security Custodial Centre, Kirikiri, with TikToker, Olumide Ogunsanwo alias Seaking’.”
He also promised to contest the court case and denounced the police for stifling free expression through criminal accusations.
Charges against Seaking consist of:
Count One: By sharing a TikTok video encouraging people to oppose police officers inspecting their phones, he engaged in behavior that could have resulted in a breach of peace (Section 168(d)(2) of Lagos Criminal Law, 2015).
According to Section 57(b) of the Lagos Criminal Law (2015), Count Two: Inciting a breach of peace by inciting young Nigerians to assault police personnel.
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Section 24(1)(a)(b)(2)(a) and (i) of the Cybercrime Act, 2015 (Count 3): Cybercrime-related charges, claiming that his TikTok video incited violence against the Nigerian Police.
Outrage over Seaking’s rearrest has led campaigners to caution against the abuse of cybercrime laws to stifle dissent.
The police have been accused of deploying intimidating techniques to prevent public criticism of alleged corruption within the force, and Sowore and legal activists have called for his immediate release.
