Tope Temokun, the legal counsel for Omoyele Sowore, a human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, has voiced strong objections to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, for delegating Sowore’s prosecution to a private law firm.
In a statement released to PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday, Temokun characterized this action as indicative of a "dangerous trend" that is gradually infiltrating Nigeria’s criminal justice system, a situation that appears to be met with public apathy.
The local police initiated the case last year, alleging that Sowore and Sahara Reporters colluded to produce a forged wireless police message from July 30, 2025, with the intention of inciting discord within the Nigeria Police Force and turning officers against the federal government.
This trial is one of many that the police have launched against Sowore over the two years of service under the current Inspector-General of Police, whom Sowore has consistently labeled as "Illegal IGP," due to perceived incompetence and bias in promoting officers within the force.
During a court session on Wednesday addressing the forgery case, Temokun announced that the police lawyer submitted an authorization memo from the Ministry of Justice, transferring the prosecution to a private attorney while implicating that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) would finance the legal costs.
“The memo made it clear that the Nigeria Police Force will fund this, indicating that taxpayers will essentially bear the expense for a private lawyer,” Temokun remarked.
He also raised concerns about the constitutional validity of outsourcing public prosecution efforts.
The charges resulted from allegations that the case was motivated by grievances from public officials targeting Sowore for his publication of a police communication. Temokun emphasized that criminal prosecutions are meant to serve public interest and should not arise solely from personal grievances against individuals in public service.
Temokun cautioned that using public funds for such outsourcing could lead to a misuse of the legal processes for personal vendettas.
“Public prosecution shouldn’t devolve into an unchecked outsourcing structure at the cost of taxpayers, particularly when large-scale litigations against public officials indicate a pressing need for reform,” he cautioned.
He recounted that during the previous IGP's term, almost every public criticism from Sowore's platform resulted in criminal charges, contributing to a significant backlog of cases in the Federal High Court in Abuja.
He noted that legislation intended to regulate online speech has been warped into a mechanism for persecuting citizens in favor of those with authority.
“Every utterance deemed improper transforms into a charge. Courtrooms become mere reflections of the egos of high-ranking officials. If the offended parties were to cover their legal costs personally, there might be some restraint. However, when these actions are funded by taxpayers, prosecutions run rampant,” he elaborated.
The legal proceedings against Sowore and Sahara Reporters are set to continue, with the court now adjourned until May 28.
Temokun expressed hope that the new Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, might reconsider and dismiss the current allegations.
He called on the AGF’s office to create transparent guidelines that would prevent any criminal proceedings from appearing to be retaliatory, reinforcing that prosecutions must serve justice rather than being merely extensions of political or administrative actions.
“Trials must be conducted with the pursuit of justice in mind rather than as an extension of administrative actions. The integrity of our legal system is measured not only by the outcomes of trials but also through the restraint exercised in their initiation,” he stated.
He also highlighted the ongoing legal battle Sowore has against X (formerly Twitter), emphasizing the unnecessary expenditure of public funds on politically driven cases that yield little societal benefit.
“While the government implements tax reforms aimed at collecting revenue from citizens, cases of politically motivated prosecutions continue to drain resources. The new IGP needs to act swiftly to reassess and terminate these cases.
“This is broader than just Omoyele Sowore; it is about safeguarding against misuse of state power for harassment funded by the state. Nigerians should not be seen merely as subjects—they are the rightful shareholders of the Republic and have the inherent right to question how taxpayer money is utilized,” he concluded.
In response to inquiries from PREMIUM TIMES regarding the situation, Kamarudeen Ogundele, the media adviser to the AGF, stated that while he could not immediately confirm the engagement of a private lawyer for Sowore’s prosecution, the law does grant the attorney-general the authority to do so.
Discussing the sensitive nature of the ongoing case, he advised that individuals with grievances should resort to court for redress instead of engaging in media publicity.
“It is within the powers of the AGF to authorize a private attorney to prosecute cases on behalf of the government. Numerous instances exist supporting this practice, so there’s no reason for alarm,” he added, suggesting that further inquiries be directed at the court concerning the case.
This case finds its roots in August 2025, when the police charged Sowore along with Sahara Reporters on three grounds, including the forgery of a police wireless message dated July 30 and 31, 2025.
The police contended that the accused conspired to produce a forged wireless message with specific reference numbers and spread it online to instigate unrest among the police and the public directed against the federal government.
Though the actual content of the message is not being disputed, the police argue that the version circulated by Sowore and his platform is a counterfeit of the original document, claiming discrepancies in reference numbers and signatures.
Nevertheless, the meaning contained within the circulated message remains accepted and undisputed.
The message from July 30 alerts significant police units regarding a protest by retired officers against inadequate pensions which occurred at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on July 21, 2025, advising heightened security to prevent any surprises ahead of a subsequent protest. Sowore was instrumental in organizing this protest.
The trial is currently progressing in front of Judge Emeka Nwite at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Bassey Ibitham, a police officer in the Legal Section of the Force Criminal Investigation Department, has indicated via an affidavit attached to the charges that the police are set to move forward with prosecution, despite investigations still being active.
Sowore, an activist, former presidential candidate, and publisher of Sahara Reporters, has encountered frequent arrests and legal challenges posed by the police and the State Security Service (SSS) over the years.
Persistent in his criticisms of the last Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, Sowore designated him as "Illegal IGP" following an extension of service granted to Egbetokun last year via a contentious modification to the Police Act.
Despite the ramifications, Sowore continued to challenge Egbetokun's legitimacy, leading to charges filed against him in January of the previous year regarding his claims and a recent court injunction obtained by Egbetokun attempting to prevent Sowore from making "defamatory statements" against him.
Sowore has suggested that his detainment prior to charges related to the wireless message forgery case was politically motivated, correlating it to his active involvement in protests led by retired police officers concerning poor pension prospects. Subsequently, the Nigerian police filed three charges against both him and Sahara Reporters.
On the eve of his arraignment, a judge separately ordered six financial institutions to provide the police access to Sowore’s bank details and statements as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of terrorism financing and money laundering against him. However, no further developments have been reported on this matter since then.
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