You likely know Omoyele Sowore as either of these: a former Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), the owner of the news platform Sahara Reporters, or as a rights activist who lives by the beloved Nigerian slogan “no gree for anybody.” He is currently in a tussle with the Nigerian Police because of the third one.
What’s happening?
On Monday, January 27, the Nigeria Police detained Sowore at the Abbatoir Police station in the Guzape area of Abuja.
Sowore’s criticisms
On Thursday, January 9, Sowore posted a video on X, which showed him questioning a couple of Police operatives in Lagos State over what he described as an attempt to extort him. “Operation Resist @PoliceNG extortion on Nigerian highways! #RevolutionNow,” he captioned the video, which soon went viral on the social media platform.
Before then, he also openly criticised the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, in December 2024 for “ruining the Nigerian Police.” Sowore alleged that Egbetokun’s legacy as Police head is marked by “police abuse, corruption, police baiting (using innocent relatives abducted at gunpoint to trap suspects), police illegal use of wiretapping, torture, bribery, extortion,” and more.
Sowore has also accused Egbetokun of overstaying his legally allowed tenure as Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police.
Police invitation
Two weeks after his January 9 viral video on X, the police sent a letter to Sowore on Thursday, January 23, inviting him to the Force Intelligence Department (FID) in Abuja for questioning over “Resisting and Obstructing Public Officers, Disobedience to Lawful Order, Acts Intended to Cause Grievous Harm or Prevent Arrest, Compelling Action by Intimidation, Reckless & Negligent Acts, Refusal to Assist Public Servant and Cyberstalking.”
Following the police’s instructions, Sowore honoured the invitation on Monday, January 27, and was detained. His bail conditions were set at no cost except for submitting his international passport and providing a level 17 civil servant as his guarantor. Sowore rejected the bail conditions, saying they were illegal. “I refuse to participate in any arrangement that undermines my personal integrity,” he said in a social media post.
Popular Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, who is Sowore’s lawyer, confirmed the bail conditions were illegal “such bail condition has been declared illegal by the Court of Appeal in the case of Dasuki V. Director-General of SSS,” Falana said, in a letter addressed to the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police in charge of the FID.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, one of Sowore’s lawyers, Deji Adeyanju, also said that the bail conditions were illegal, adding that the Police were only holding the activist because he has consistently called out the IGP . “Sowore has been vocal in criticising the IGP for staying in office beyond the prescribed term. He said the IGP is an illegal IGP,” Adeyanju said.
What’s the update?
On Tuesday, January 28, a lawyer from Falana and Falana chambers told Premium Times newspaper that the Police plan to transfer Sowore to Lagos as it is the protocol to charge a defendant in the State where their alleged offence was committed. In Sowore’s case, it is Lagos State where he made the video, which led to his arrest.
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