Nigeria, Oct. 4 -- Mr Duff said the police commissioner denied that the police's action was political. He argued that the state's political alignments, where the PDP and the APC are working together, had raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the incident.

He expressed concern about how similar incidents could affect political activities ahead of the 2027 elections.

The police have consistently rejected the suggestion that the arrests were politically motivated, insisting that their intervention was driven by security concerns.

The command's position is that the planned march presented a potential public-order challenge, particularly because other political activities had also been scheduled for the same period and in som...