BREAKING: Nigeria Police Charge Sowore With Cybercrime
The Nigeria Police Force plans to re-charge detained human rights activist Omoyele Sowore before Justice M.S. Liman at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday.
Sources said on Tuesday that the new suit, numbered FHC/ABJ/CR/23/2025, includes charges of cyberbullying and endangering police officers, among others.
“The police authorities have changed their plan; they are filing charges against Sowore tomorrow (Wednesday) and will arraign him before Justice Liman in a Federal High Court,” one of the sources said.
Sowore’s detention at the Nigerian Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) office at Old Abattoir by Guzape Junction, Abuja, followed his refusal to accept the bail conditions imposed by the police authorities on Monday, after honouring invitation over a viral video he recorded, highlighting extortion by police officers on the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Access Road in Lagos.
The conditions include producing a level 16 civil servant as a surety and surrendering his passport.
Sowore, on Monday, honoured an invitation by the police over his exposé on officers allegedly extorting motorists along Ikeja, Lagos State.
However, he rejected the bail terms twice.
The police invitation, dated January 23, 2025, was signed by CP Ibitoye Rufus Alajide on behalf of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Intelligence Department (FID).
In the invitation letter, the police said they were “investigating case of 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 in which your name featured, prominently”.
The new plan indicates that the police authorities have abandoned their initial intention to fly Sowore to Lagos and have a judge impose stringent bail conditions on him to keep him incarcerated.
It was reported on Saturday that the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, had secretly planned to fly human rights activist Omoyele Sowore from Abuja to Lagos after he responded to the police invitation.
Sources said on Saturday that the invitation is not connected to the video but instead arises from a deep-seated personal grudge that the police chief, Egbetokun, holds against the Publisher of SaharaReporters.
According to sources, the invitation is motivated by Sowore’s nickname for Egbetokun – “Illegal IG,” in reference to his tenure being extended beyond the retirement age.
For example, on December 20, 2024, Sowore called for the release of Olamide Thomas, a nurse detained for allegedly insulting President Bola Tinubu’s son, Seyi, as well as Egbetokun and the Force spokesman, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a social media post.
In the post, Sowore said, “The illegal IG of Nigeria Police Force, Kayode Egbetokun will make the next #ENDSARS inevitable! He is working tirelessly towards it. Just a matter of time! #EgbetokunMustGo #Revolution freeolamidenow.”
Confirming the change of plan, one of the sources said, “The Nigeria Police Force has dropped its initial plan to fly Sowore to Lagos for a kangaroo trial, after the plan leaked.
“Lagos people say they don’t want trouble. Egbetokun has a Federal Court judge to hear the case in Abuja tomorrow!”
