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The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, his son Victor, and a police officer, Bukola Kuti, have obtained a court order, restraining activist Omoyele Sowore and his media organisation, Sahara Reporters, from publishing alleged defamatory statements against them.
The applicants, in three separate documents instituted by their lawyer Ayotunde Ogunleye, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, secured the interim orders in Abuja on Wednesday, according to court documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES.
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In the documents, Mr Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters, and his medium were mentioned as defendants.
How it started
The development follows a prolonged dispute between the police authorities and Mr Sowore over the legality of the police chief’s continued stay in office.
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Mr Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), had repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of Mr Egbetokun’s continued tenure, prompting the Nigerian police to file cybercrime charges against him in January 2025.
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 upon attaining 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.
The police alleged in the indictment that Mr Sowore knew that the description of Mr Egbetokun as an “illegal IGP” was false, but knowingly made the claim to cause a “breakdown of law and order.”
Mr Sowore, however, denied the cybercrime charges.
Court order
The IGP and Ms Kuti, by separate court orders, specifically restrain Mr Sowore from publishing any material concerning them, their offices, family members, or any other related matters until the Motion on Notice set for 14 April is heard and determined.
Also, the younger Egbetokun was granted an ex parte injunction to stop the defendants from publishing “defamatory and derogatory statements” on the medium or any other media platforms.
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The high court also asked the defendant to refrain from claiming that Mr Victor received N100 million from Anambra State Security Votes in his media outlet.
Response
However, Mr Sowore, in his response via X, described the development as “disturbing as they are revealing.”
He said the move by the police chief is an attempt to silence public criticism and “stop further exposure of alleged misconduct.”
