By Speaking to journalists on Wednesday after Justice Liman again refused to hear his motion seeking the release of his passport for the fifth consecutive time, Sowore recounted events that began in January 2025, when he was invited by the police over allegations that he filmed some officers engaging in corrupt practices along Airport Road in Lagos.
Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has accused the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and Justice M.S. Liman of the Federal High Court, Abuja of working together to perpetually withhold his passport by deliberately frustrating court proceedings in his ongoing trial for alleged cyberstalking and for referring to the IGP as an “illegal IGP.”
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday after Justice Liman again refused to hear his motion seeking the release of his passport for the fifth consecutive time, Sowore recounted events that began in January 2025, when he was invited by the police over allegations that he filmed some officers engaging in corrupt practices along Airport Road in Lagos. Sowore said the police invitation later escalated into accusations that he had described the Inspector General of Police as “illegal”.
Sowore alleged that the former Deputy Inspector-General in charge of the Force Intelligence Department, Dasuki Danbappa Galadanchi (now retired), exerted pressure on him throughout the interrogation.
According to him, his activism against alleged age falsification and illegal tenure extension within the police hierarchy affecting “over 500 officers” triggered a wave of prosecutions and multiple court cases against him. He maintained that the current IGP, whose tenure he insisted was illegally extended, remains “a major target” of their accountability campaign.
Sowore explained that the trial judge has kept his passport since January 2025 despite no meaningful progress in the case, a plot which he described as ‘premeditated and a conspiracy theory’.
His legal team, he said, filed an application seeking the temporary release of the passport to enable him travel to the United States to visit his family for Christmas. But the judge has failed to sit, claiming to be attending a conference.
“When my lawyer arrived, the judge refused to come out of his chambers,” Sowore said, alleging further that the judge threatened to revoke his bail after being informed that the defence had lost confidence in his neutrality.
The activist said the case has now been adjourned to February 25, 2026, which he described as “a deliberate attempt to keep my passport seized in collaboration with the illegal IGP.”
Sowore also spoke on what he described as a plot by government officials and certain individuals to ensure he spends Christmas in prison. He revealed that he is facing yet another charge next week over comments he made about police leadership, alleging that some senior lawyers are pushing for his remand “simply for criticizing the president.”
He criticised the rising insecurity in the country, attributing it to “poor police leadership” and the militarisation of internal security. He referenced ongoing kidnappings in Niger State and alleged abuses by security agencies and lawmakers.
The former AAC presidential candidate revealed that he is not afraid of being remanded and spending Christmas in a correctional facility. He said he has been attending court proceedings fully prepared, bringing his bags and other personal items to court.
Reflecting on the year, Sowore noted what he called several civic victories in 2025, including the Senate’s recent passage of a bill removing police personnel from the contributory pension scheme, an issue activists had fought for years.
He highlighted several instances throughout 2025 where protesters secured the release of detainees, challenged state abuses, and resisted “oppression and intimidation.”
Sowore vowed to continue his activism, stressing that “no number of court cases or detentions” would halt demands for systemic reforms. He criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying it has brought “nothing but tears, hardship and sorrow” to Nigerians.
Background
Court records and internal correspondence reviewed by AfrikTimes show that Justice M.S. Liman failed to sit on two consecutive dates scheduled to hear a fresh application seeking the release of Sowore’s passport, which remains in the court’s custody.
According to officials familiar with the matter at the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the police repeatedly declined to transmit the case file to AGF Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) despite several formal requests. The judge’s absence on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, again halted proceedings, marking the second adjournment in a row.
A similar disruption occurred on April 25, when the judge’s nonappearance stalled another hearing focused on the recovery of Sowore’s passport.
Sowore was granted bail on January 30, 2025, with conditions that included a ₦10 million bond and the surrender of his passport. His legal team later filed a motion requesting temporary release of the travel document, specifying the exact duration needed.
The case originated in January 2025 after Sowore published a video online alleging that police officers were extorting motorists at a checkpoint near Lagos Airport. He honoured a subsequent invitation to the Force Intelligence Department in Abuja but was detained after rejecting bail terms requiring him to surrender his passport and produce a senior civil servant as surety.
Police investigators later alleged that he knowingly made false statements capable of inciting public unrest and damaging the reputation of the Nigeria Police Force.
