Former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, representing the African Action Congress, clashed with officials from the Nigeria Police Force and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as they barred him from entering the Federal High Court.
Sowore asserted that he is not Yahaya Bello, the former Kogi State governor currently embroiled in a financial misappropriation case with the EFCC. In a video shared on his social media platform, Sowore expressed his frustration, accusing security personnel of hijacking Nigeria’s justice system, which he claims is under the control of uniformed agents, including the police and civil defense forces.
The activist alleged that the presence of security agents was an attempt to protect Bello, whom he referred to as a “thief,” and criticized the authorities for their failure to arrest Bello when he was declared wanted. He pointed out that Bello was only detained after voluntarily reporting to the EFCC in Abuja.
In his video address, Sowore challenged the officers, stating, “Why are you shouting at me? Do I look like Yahaya Bello? I have business in court. I don’t need to be cleared by either the police or EFCC because none of you is an officer of the court. This is a Federal High Court; bring a court official, and I will talk to them. EFCC brought me to court, and they are still harassing us. You have no right to stand in front of the high court. You are not my lawyer and have no right to know my case.”
This incident marks yet another confrontation for Sowore, who has a history of clashes with security forces. Recently, he alleged that the Nigeria Police Force intended to detain him due to his outspoken criticism of the extension of Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun’s tenure.
Sowore had previously been summoned to the Force Intelligence Headquarters following a viral video where he accused police officers of extorting money at a Lagos checkpoint. He faced allegations including resisting public officers, disobedience to lawful orders, cyberstalking, and attempting to prevent arrests. In a Facebook post, Sowore claimed that the police were relying on “rehashed information” primarily sourced from the internet to justify their actions against him.
