Omoyele Sowore, an African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate and activist, has accused the prosecution in his current lawsuit with the federal government of punishing him rather than using due process.
During an interview with ARISE NEWS, Sowore denied that his accusation against President Bola Tinubu was only a political viewpoint, claiming that it was founded on facts that he feels can be tested through the legal process.
“That’s a factual statement. And it states that there is no status of limitation for anyone who has been involved in narcotics dealing or trafficking.
“The NDLEA can still try you, even if you are president, after you leave office. That is an argument we can make. And it isn’t only that in this instance.
“During End SARS, there was an open case before the Federal High Court involving the misappropriation of billions of dollars in taxes that were meant to be paid by Alpha Beta, a company associated to this president. He had never dealt with that case.
“After End SARS, we were told that the records were burned in the courtroom to hide the truth. And we have a number of these,” Sowore added.
Sowore went on to say that he had encouraged the authorities to allow the case to move to trial so that he could submit his evidence, but that instead, efforts had been taken to obstruct his defence.
“What I told them was that, why don’t you simply relax? Let’s go to court and prove our case. But, just as we were about to prove the case, our counsel began tearing into their solitary witness—a DSS employee who said he discovered I made this statement. The judge became irritable.
He said, ‘Stop. If you don’t stop, come down and kneel here. It never happened before. I attempted to get my primary counsel, Marshal Abubakar, to kneel before a judge because they did not want us to deliver our evidence.
“They are interested in convicting, punishing me without conviction,” he claims.
Sowore stated that free expression should be guaranteed by the rule of law rather than being dictated by those in power. He insisted that the Cybercrime Act not be used to muzzle critics or criminalize remarks regarding public authorities.
His comments came amid his ongoing prosecution over social media statements in which he referred to President Tinubu as a “criminal.”
The case resulted in his bail being revoked after he failed to appear in court, though he was later granted fresh bail under tougher terms.
Sowore also underlined that his advocacy is motivated by a desire for justice rather than political ambition, saying he will continue to speak out against injustice regardless of the personal consequences.
