Omoyele Sowore, former African Action Congress presidential candidate and human rights activist, confronted Nigeria Police Force and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission officials at the Federal High Court premises.
He told the officers he was not former Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello who is standing trial for alleged financial mismanagement.
Sowore refused to be blocked by the officers from entering the court.
In a video on his X handle, he said Nigeria’s justice system has been hijacked by uniformed security agents including DSS, police and civil defence.
He alleged that these officials had taken over the court premises because they brought a “thief” Yahaya Bello to the court. He also said Bello was not arrested when he was declared wanted and that Bello only got detained after he reported himself to EFCC office in Abuja.
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.”
He added, “This is 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 will confront security personnel. Recently, he alleged that Nigeria Police Force planned to detain him after he criticized the extension of Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun’s tenure.
After a police invitation, Sowore arrived at the Force Intelligence Headquarters at 9:58 am after posting a viral video that alleged extortion by officers at a Lagos checkpoint.
The security agents later invited him to answer charges including resisting and obstructing public officers, disobedience to lawful orders, cyberstalking and acts intended to prevent arrests.
In a post on his Facebook page, he said the police relied on “rehashed information” gathered mainly from the internet to question him.
Incidents like this show the ongoing tension between human rights activists and state security agencies in Nigeria.