Omoyele Sowore, former presidential candidate and publisher of SaharaReporters, on Monday confronted a senior police officer during retired police officers’ protest in Abuja, accusing him of working for an Inspector-General of Police (IGP) he described as “illegal.”
In a video posted to his Facebook page, Mr Sowore was seen interacting with Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ahmed Lateef.
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Mr Lateef challenged Mr Sowore to identify, from footage on his phone, a plain-clothed officer allegedly involved in the theft of his Ray-Ban AI glasses during the protest.
The response from the police officer, who introduced himself as Principal Staff Officer (PSO) to IGP Kayode Egbetokun, prompted a sharp response from Mr Sowore.
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“I am the PSO to the IGP,” Mr Lateef introduced himself.
“Why are you a PSO to a person who is supposed to have retired? You are doing an illegal duty,” Mr Sowore responded.
In a separate post, Mr Sowore wrote:
“Being a Principal Staff Officer (PSO) to an illegal IGP of the Nigeria Police Force is nothing short of participating in an unlawful duty. I made this clear to this senior police officer today at the #PoliceProtest.
“We did not meet with illegal IGP Kayode Egbetokun today, nor could we have. We do not recognise him as the legitimate Inspector-General of Police,” Mr Sowore wrote on his Facebook page.
Mr Sowore has consistently questioned the legitimacy of Mr Egbetokun’s continued tenure, prompting the Nigerian police to file cybercrime charges against him in January.
The police charged Mr Sowore with 17 counts of cybercrime offences for referring to the IGP, Mr Egbetokun, as “illegal IGP” in a post on his social media platforms.
Mr Egbetokun, who was expected to have exited service having attained the statutory retirement age of 60 years in September 2024, secured an extended stay in office following a controversial alteration to the Nigeria Police Act passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Bola Tinubu.
The alteration allowed Mr Egbetokun to stay in office for up to four years as Nigeria’s police chief.
Mr Sowore denied the cybercrime charges.
Protest over police pensions
Earlier that day, Mr Sowore led a mass demonstration to the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in Abuja. The protest, organised in collaboration with the Nigerian Union of Retired Police Officers, called for improved welfare and urgent reforms to the pension system for both serving and retired officers.
Participants demanded the removal of police personnel from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), which they described as a “death sentence.” Protesters carried placards with messages such as “Decent Salaries Now,” “Pensions for Police Officers,” and “End Police Slavery.”
PREMIUM TIMES observed that while the protesters were denied access to the Force Headquarters, they were escorted throughout by uniformed officers from the National Assembly.
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Mr Sowore claimed that officers assigned to monitor the demonstration appeared sympathetic, with some smiling and nodding in what he described as “silent solidarity.” He also accused an unidentified plain-clothed officer of stealing his glasses in what he alleged was an attempt to sabotage the protest.
“The struggle continues,” he wrote, vowing that the protest would resume on 1 August.
He also mocked the charges, describing them as “ridiculous,” and pointed out grammatical and typographical errors in the charge sheet — including the misspelling of his first name as “Omoleye” and the misuse of “insight” instead of “incite.”
“These charges prove my point — the man is both illegal and incompetent,” Mr Sowore wrote on his Facebook page.
Before his arraignment, Mr Sowore was detained by police in Abuja after honouring their invitation over a viral video in which he accused officers of extortion at a checkpoint in Ikeja, Lagos.
He was held overnight after reportedly refusing “stringent and illegal” bail conditions imposed after interrogation.
“I am being held in custody until further notice,” Mr Sowore said.
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