Police arraign Sowore over ‘controversial’ comment about IGP

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has arraigned former presidential candidate and activist, Omoyele Sowore, over his ‘controversial’ comment on the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun.

The police on Wednesday arraigned Sowore on charges of cybercrime before Justice Musa Liman of the Federal High Court Abuja.

Sowore had rejected a revised bail condition imposed by police operatives at the Force Intelligence Department (FID) on Monday, insisting on remaining in detention.

The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) of the FID, Dasuki Galandachi, had interrogated him at the Intelligence Bureau over a video he posted alleging that the police on Airport Road in Lagos engaged in extortion.

In the video, some police operatives stopped his vehicle and asked him to park, but Sowore vehemently refused and posted the video with the caption, “Operation Resist @PoliceNG extortion on Nigerian highways! #RevolutionNow”.

He announced in a post he shared on his official X account on Monday that Galandachi informed him he would be granted bail.

Sowore said he was ordered to deposit his international passport and provide a level 17 civil servant as a guarantor for bail, but he declined the conditions and opted to remain in police detention.

The politician cum activist provided an update on his X handle, saying that his bail condition had been reduced but he chose to decline it.

“UPDATE: The PoliceNG team assigned to my case has informed me that the DIG of FID, Dasuki Galandachi, has reevaluated my bail conditions, necessitating the production of a level 16 civil servant and the surrender of my international passport, a condition I have declined outright,” Sowore wrote.

The police later filed a 16-count of cybercrime against Sowore. In count three, the police accused him of calling Egbetokun, “the illegal IG of Nigeria Police Force” on his X handle on December 20, 2024.

The police have also accused him of posting Egbetokun’s picture on his X handle with the caption: “Mediocrity, incompetence, corruption, a country run by characterless people can not make progress”.

The police also alleged that Sowore, through his X handle, said, “IGP Kayode Egbetokun will destroy the Nigeria police if we don’t act now”.

The activist, however, pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of cybercrime.