HUMAN rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, has accused the Nigeria Police Force, under its Inspector-General, Kayode Egbetokun, of orchestrating a fresh plot to intimidate him and muzzle the operations of his media platform, Sahara Reporters.
In a statement on Wednesday, August 20, Sowore said he was once again summoned by the IGP Monitoring Unit over the operations of Sahara Reporters in Nigeria.
According to Sowore, the police sought to question him over Sahara Reporters Media Foundation and Sahara Reporters Ltd., after obtaining documents from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
The activist insisted the move was part of a wider campaign by Egbetokun and his allies to stifle Sahara Reporters following its recent investigative reports exposing alleged contract-splitting, illegal promotions, and financial improprieties within the police hierarchy.
He further alleged that the Head of the IGP’s Monitoring Unit, Akin Fakorede, a police comissioner, expressed personal anger at Sahara Reporters’ reporting.
“The Nigeria Police Force, under Egbetokun’s illegal command, is bent on stifling @SaharaReporters because of its fearless reporting and its recent exposés on the scandals surrounding him regarding contract splitting and controversial promotions of unqualified senior police officers in dalliances with him.
“Fakorede himself appeared personally aggrieved. He was visibly livid that Sahara Reporters had described his controversial promotion to the rank of Commissioner of Police as questionable. He also complained bitterly that @SaharaReporters reporting of his intervention in the recent Park Estate matter was an attempt to embarrass him,” he wrote.
Sowore likened the current harassment to previous state-led crackdowns against him and Sahara Reporters under the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, including his treason charges in 2019, restrictions placed on the media foundation’s Lagos office, and past attempts by senior government officials to silence the platform through bogus lawsuits.
He also revealed that after his detention last week, Fakorede allegedly offered a “backdoor deal” that would see his seized passport returned and pending charges withdrawn if he agreed to reconcile with Egbetokun.
Sowore said he rejected the offer, insisting that Egbetokun had been illegally occupying the office of IGP since September 2024 when he surpassed the statutory retirement age of 60.
“Over the years, the Nigerian state has tried to use government ministers, pastors, and even diplomats to sue Sahara Reporters in U.S. courts. Every attempt has failed. Unlike in Nigeria, judges in the United States cannot be intimidated, coerced, or bribed into submission. This current witch-hunt is nothing more than another wild goose chase.
“The desperation is so brazen that after my unlawful detention last week, Fakorede himself sat with us twice in the presence of my lawyers. He offered a backdoor deal. According to him, if I would agree to make peace with Egbetokun, he would ensure that my illegally seized passport is returned and that all the bogus charges filed against me are withdrawn. This speaks to the influence they wield on judges who brazenly do their biddings to subvert the course of justice.
“He even suggested arranging a meeting with Egbetokun to seal this so-called ‘peace.’ I rejected it outright. I am not interested in peace built on blackmail and illegality,” he added.
The ICIR reached out to the police spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, through call, SMS and WhatsApp message Thursday morning on claims made by Sowore. He declined the call to his line and did not respond to the message sent to him hours before this report was published.
This latest incident came just days after Sowore regained freedom on August 8, 2025, following nearly three days in police custody.
The ICIR reported that his detention was based on two petitions, one alleging forgery of a police document and another accusing him of criminal defamation of a senior female officer.
Sowore described that arrest as “unjust, unwarranted and unlawful.”
During his detention, Sowore accused police operatives, including Fakorede, of assaulting him and breaking his hand, while the police insisted they were merely following due process and didn’t assault the activist.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M