BREAKING: Sowore Asks Abuja Court To Dismiss ‘Defective’ Forgery, Cybercrime Charges, Wants IGP Egbetokun Sanctioned For Violating Police Act

Human rights activist and publisher of SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore, has urged Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja to strike out the charges brought against him by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun.

Sowore is facing allegations bordering on criminal defamation, forgery of a police wireless message, and cybercrime. However, through his counsel, Abubakar Marshal, he argued that the charges are “defective, incompetent, and an abuse of prosecutorial powers” in violation of the Nigeria Police Act and Section 174(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

At Wednesday’s proceedings, prosecution counsel Barrister Madaki informed the court that efforts to serve the second defendant, SaharaReporters, had been unsuccessful.

He explained that although the court granted an order for substituted service, the process of publishing the charges in national dailies had not yet been completed.

He, therefore, requested additional time to perfect the service.

Defence counsel Marshal, however, informed the court that he had filed a preliminary objection challenging the competence of the charges.

He insisted that the objection must be heard before any arraignment could take place.

Marshal further argued that the charges against his client were a “charade” lacking legal merit, and urged the court to strike them out.

The prosecution acknowledged receipt of the preliminary objection but maintained its push for Sowore’s arraignment.

After hearing both parties, Justice Nwite adjourned the matter to September 15, 2025, for arraignment.

Marshal, while addressing journalists outside the court, said, “As usual, the police, the Inspector General, came to court today to waste our time, taxpayers’ money, and to embark on privileges and waste of public resources.

“In continuation of the charade that they started against Mr. Sowore since 1989, they filed a three-count amended charge, accusing Mr. Sowore of publishing a police wireless report.

“But principally, the major grievance of the police and the Inspector General was the protest that Mr. Sowore and some retired police officers held to demand better welfare for the police.

“They also accused him of making publications about ‘the mistress’. Three different charges were filed by officers and lawyers in the Inspector General’s office. We have informed the court that those charges are incompetent, unlawful, and are mere attempts at wasting our time, their time, and, more importantly, taxpayers’ money on frivolities.

“We filed an objection, making it clear that the Inspector General of Police has no power under the Police Act or Constitution to use his office to fight for personal interests.

“The petitioner, the nominal complainant, Yemisi Kuti, the alleged mistress of the Inspector General of Police: she is a principal staff officer to the IG and an officer in the Nigerian Police. The Police Act clearly forbids any police officer, serving or retired, from using the instrumentalities of the police to fight a personal vendetta or as a means of settling personal scores.

“The instant charge today is an example of such abuse of prosecutorial powers. Section 174(3) of the Constitution stipulates that any charge filed in court must be in compliance with equity and the interest of justice. This particular requirement of Section 174(3) is lacking in the charge filed by the police.

“This is a clear attempt at stifling and shrinking the civic space in Nigeria. We join Nigerians all over the world to condemn this institution as a misfit, a misuse of authority, and one not sanctioned by the Constitution or prosecutorial powers.

“There is no basis for entering a plea to a defective charge such as the one we have in court today. We have informed the court that we will not take any plea on this inherently defective charge. These charges, as provided under the Constitution, must be quashed. The court must strike out the charge without further wasting Nigerian taxpayers’ money.

“We have also urged the court to note that the Police Regulations and the Police Act — which serve as the guiding framework for the Nigeria Police Force and its officers — clearly prohibit and recommend disciplinary measures against any officer who uses the instrumentality of office to pursue and prosecute personal grievances.

“Such an officer must be recommended to the appropriate authority for sanction, because such conduct amounts to indiscipline and violates the Police Code.

“Therefore, we are urging the court to mandate the police lawyer, who is also a serving police officer, to recommend to the appropriate authority that the IG and other officers who have abused these provisions, as demonstrated in this charge, be subjected to appropriate disciplinary action. This is what the law requires.”