SaharaReporters’ publisher Omoyele Sowore has commenced an indefinite hunger strike, a day after he was whisked away and taken into custody by operatives of the Nigeria police.

Peoples Gazette reported that the rights activist was arrested alongside other citizens in the wee hours of New Year’s Day, during a crossover gathering in Abuja to protest widespread poverty and rights abuses.

Mr. Sowore, who was apparently injured during his forceful arrest by police officers embarked on a hunger strike Saturday, to protest the police’s refusal to grant him access to his books, SaharaReporters is reporting.

Police authorities did not explain reasons for the decision. The Force has yet to file charges against the activist and his detained colleagues who are being held at Abattoir, a notorious police detention facility in Guzape.

A police spokesman did not immediately return requests from the Gazette for comments.

Mr. Sowore’s rearrest comes weeks after the American Bar Association accused the Buhari administration of prosecutorial misconduct against the prominent journalist.

Mr. Sowore had previously been incarcerated by Nigerian authorities on trumped-up charges of treason, despite court orders mandating his release.