National Telescope national telescope newspaper
Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has raised concerns about an alleged plot by the Nigeria Police Force to detain him due to his outspoken criticism regarding the extension of Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun’s tenure.
Sowore made his appearance at the Force Intelligence Headquarters at 9:58 a.m., following an invitation from the police after he shared a viral video that accused officers of extortion at a checkpoint in Lagos.
The police summoned him to answer multiple allegations, including resisting and obstructing public officers, disobedience to lawful orders, cyberstalking, and other actions allegedly aimed at preventing arrests.
In a statement on his Facebook page, Sowore criticized the police for using “rehashed information” primarily sourced from the internet to question him regarding these allegations.
During the questioning, Sowore explained that he declined to provide a written statement, arguing that the police had not specified any particular crime.
“I have recently completed an engagement with a team from the Nigeria Police Force at the Force Intelligence Department (FID) in Abuja, which they referred to as an ‘interview’,” he stated.
“The police relied on a rehashed set of information sourced mostly from the internet. When I asked them to identify the location of the alleged ‘crime’ in Lagos, they provided a vague response, stating it was along the airport road,” he continued.
“I chose not to provide a written statement, as we informed the Police team that, in the absence of a defined crime, the process to determine such was unnecessary.
They took a break and later informed me that they were awaiting instructions from their superiors. It seems their plan is to detain me and take me to Lagos for a kangaroo trial,” he added.
Despite the potential consequences, Sowore expressed his readiness to confront the situation. “I made it clear to the team that the matter revolves around my publicly stated view that the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, who is due for retirement and clearly tired, had his tenure extended illegally.
I maintain that we are entering a promising phase, and our fight for justice will persist. #RevolutionNow.”
