‘Do I look like Yahaya Bello?’ – Sowore challenges security agents in court
Former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, has confronted officials of the Nigeria Police Force and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for preventing him from entering the premises of the Federal High Court.
Sowore told the officers that he was not former Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello, who has an ongoing case with the commission over alleged financial misappropriation.
The ex-AAC presidential candidate, who is also a human rights activist, resisted every officer’s attempt to obstruct him.
In a video posted on his X handle, Sowore claimed that Nigeria’s justice system had been hijacked by uniformed security agents, including the Department of State Security Services, police, and civil defence.
He alleged that they had illegally taken over the court premises because they had brought a “thief”, Yahaya Bello, to the court.
He further criticised the authorities for failing to arrest Bello when he was declared wanted, only managing to detain him after the former governor reported himself to the EFCC office in Abuja.
Speaking in the video, Sowore said, “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 is not the first time Sowore has had an altercation with security personnel.
Recently, the human rights activist alleged that the Nigeria Police Force planned to detain him over his criticism of the extension of Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun’s tenure.
Sowore arrived at the Force Intelligence Headquarters at 9:58 am following a police invitation after he uploaded a viral video alleging extortion by officers at a checkpoint in Lagos.
The activist was summoned to respond to several allegations, including resisting and obstructing public officers, disobedience to lawful orders, cyberstalking, and acts allegedly intended to prevent arrests.
In a post on his Facebook page, Sowore stated that the police relied on “rehashed information” sourced primarily from the internet to question him.
