A dramatic scene unfolded yesterday at the high court in Abuja involving Omoyele Sowore and the police. In a video posted by Sowore, police officers stationed at the court gate refused to grant him access to the premises, despite his insistence that he had a case to attend. Despite his attempts to explain, the officers stood their ground.
However, Sowore—human rights activist, Nigerian politician, and owner of Sahara Reporters—immediately resisted what he described as intimidation and harassment by the Nigeria Police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Standing his ground, he questioned whether they mistook him for Yahaya Bello. Addressing the officers directly, he insisted that neither the EFCC nor the police were officers of the court and, therefore, had no business blocking the court entrance.
After some back and forth, the police eventually backed down, and a determined Sowore was finally allowed into the court premises.
In his post on X (formerly known as Twitter), he wrote:
“The justice system in Nigeria has been hijacked by uniformed, uncouth security agents ranging from @OfficialDSSNG, @PoliceNG, and @CivilDefenceNGR. Today, they illegally blocked the court entrance, harassing everyone just because of a thief, Yahaya Bello @officialgybkogi. The same Yahaya Bello they couldn’t apprehend for months! Even lawyers were harassed—@NigBarAssoc must put an end to this nonsense.”
The post quickly garnered thousands of views, likes, and reactions.
