Rogues Gallery: Five Top Police Officers Who Have Tried To Kill Sowore In Past Years During Civil Protests

There has been a disturbing pattern of assaults by senior police officers, mostly Chief Superintendents of Police (CSPs), against human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, during civil demonstrations in the Nigerian capital, Abuja over the past few years.

SaharaReporters can report that eyewitnesses accounts, media reports and rights monitoring groups such as the Amnesty International revealed that at least five top police officers have been involved in violent encounters with Sowore between 2021 and 2025, resulting in the activist's serious injuries, unlawful arrests, and hospitalisations. 

The officers identified include CSP Sulayman Abdulkabir of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), CSP Altine Hyelhira Daniel, CSP Ilyasu Barau, and CSP Abdullahi Hassan, all of whom have been linked to separate cases of brutality and near murder targeting the fiery activist.

SaharaReporters notes that the first incident was the assault by CSP Abdulkabir against Sowore and the fracture of his nose in 2021.  

SaharaReporters recalls that in January 2021, during the New Year’s Eve protest in Abuja, officers attached to the Rapid Response Squad, led by CSP Abdulkabir, violently assaulted Sowore, breaking his nose in the process.

It was gathered that the incident occurred when Sowore attempted to intervene as the officers were beating some peaceful protesters.

“The policemen that were brought to the place of the protest were beating people and I came down from my car where I was covering the protest to stop them from beating people. They pounced on me, and broke my nose. It was carried out by a mobile police officer who loaded about seven vehicles with mobile police officers well armed,” Sowore had told journalists shortly after his arraignment at the Wuse Zone II Magistrate Court.

Sowore's nose was broken by the police in 2021 

After the assault, he was reportedly detained at the Abattoir Office, a notorious facility once used by the now-disbanded SARS unit.

“When they took me to their Abattoir, I discovered that the Nigerian government has not ended SARS. They mobilised SARS to beat us up and force us into detention,” he said.

Second Incident: CSP Hassan And The Arrest During Nnamdi Kanu’s Trial

Reports reviewed by SaharaReporters also show that CSP Hassan, then the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the Federal Secretariat Police Station, dragged Sowore into custody in 2021 while he was attending the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

“Also, on July 26th 2021, another police officer, the Divisional Police Officer of the Federal Secretariat Police Station and his Divisional Crime Officer violently arrested me while pointing a gun at me for attending Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s trial,” Sowore stated in a post.

VIDEO: In July 2021, the Nigeria Police Force and the DSS blockaded the Federal High Court during the commencement of the second phase of Nnamdi Kanu's sham trial; I opted to attend, and I was roughhandled and arrested by the police, but my stance remains unchanged that this is a… pic.twitter.com/97ftSu9Dbf

— Omoyele Sowore (@YeleSowore) October 22, 2025

Third Incident: CSP Altine Hyelhira Daniel Shoots Protester At Close Range

Further investigations reveal that on May 31, 2021, during a protest at Unity Fountain in Abuja, Sowore was shot at close range with a riot gun by CSP Altine Hyelhira Daniel, who was leading an RRS contingent at the time.

SaharaReporters learnt that a former SARS operative fired directly at the activist’s thigh before fleeing the scene.

“On May 31st 2021, a Nigeria Police Force officer, CSP Altine Hyelhira Daniel, directed by the Muhammadu Buhari regime, shot me at close range with a riot gun at the Unity Fountain in Abuja. Soon as she carried out the dastardly act, she ran away with the RRS police contingent under her command,” Sowore wrote in a public statement.

He later instituted a lawsuit against the officer and the police authorities at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Activist, Sowore Drags Nigerian Female Police Officer Who Shot Him, Altine And Her Power-drunk Colleagues Who Assaulted Him To Court | Sahara Reporters https://t.co/t72Dmn0B0H pic.twitter.com/itntGVdQTH

— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) October 15, 2021

“Today, I took a decision for the sake of posterity to file a lawsuit against her and the police authorities at the Federal High Court in Abuja,” he stated. 

Fourth Incident: Brutalisation At Force Intelligence Department, August 2025

In August 2025, Amnesty International confirmed that Sowore was subjected to severe physical assault by officers of the Force Intelligence Department (FID) in Abuja, allegedly led by a CSP whose identity has yet to be officially confirmed.

The incident occurred at 6am, when the activist was forcibly dragged from his cell to court, resulting in a fractured left hand.

“Amnesty International just received deeply disturbing reports of a violent attempt by the police to forcibly drag activist Omoyele Sowore from his cell to court at 6am. As a result, he sustained a severe injury on his left hand and has since been taken to an unknown location,” the rights organisation said.

Amnesty condemned the incident as a “flagrant violation of human rights and due process.”

Fifth Incident: CSP Ilyasu Barau Leads Assault Outside Court

CSP Ilyasu Barau

On October 24, 2025, just hours after a magistrate granted Sowore bail at the Kuje Magistrate Court, chaos broke out when police officers, led by CSP Ilyasu Barau, the Officer-in-Charge of Anti-Vice under the DC-CID, FCT Command, pounced on the activist, beating and dragging him into a police van.

Eyewitnesses at the scene told SaharaReporters that the assault occurred as his legal team was finalising bail documents.

“The IPO punched him, dragged him on the ground, and pushed him violently into the van. They really manhandled him,” a witness said.