Omoyele Sowore, a publisher and human rights advocate, came to the Force Intelligence Department Headquarters in Abuja on Monday to be questioned by police after uploading a viral video claiming that he had been extorted by police at a Lagos checkpoint.
IREPORT247NEW reported on January 10 that Politician Omoyele Sowore posted a video of himself confronting a few policemen who were conducting a stop-and-search operation on Lagos’ Airport Road.
Videohttps://ireport247news.com/2025/01/10/sowore-confronted-few-policemen-on-airport-road-video/
Sowore received an invitation from the police and appeared at 9:58 a.m. The activist was called to respond to a number of accusations, such as hindering and resisting public officials, disobeying legal directives, cyberstalking, and actions purportedly meant to thwart arrests.
Part of the invitation letter from the Nigeria Police Force’s Force Intelligence Department read- “This office is investigating a case of resisting and obstructing public officers, disobedience to lawful orders, acts intended to cause grievous harm or prevent arrest, compelling action by intimidation, reckless and negligent acts, refusal to assist public servants, and cyberstalking, in which your name featured prominently.
“You are requested to report for an interview with the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Intelligence Department (FID), through the undersigned, at SPO’s Room 212, 2nd Floor, Force Intelligence Department Complex, Shehu Shagari Way, opposite Force Headquarters, Area 11, Garki, Abuja, on Monday, 27th January, 2025, at 10 a.m.”
A group called the Take It Back Movement responded to the summons by posting a flyer on social media urging people to demonstrate against police extortion at the Force Headquarters. The flyer, which went viral on X (previously Twitter), showed Sowore and the Inspector General of Police side by side with the words “Occupy Force Headquarters” written in bright red.
Roads to Force Headquarters were blocked by heavily armed officers wearing anti-riot gear by early Monday morning.
Given the scheduled demonstration, the heightened security presence seemed to be a preventative measure.
Sowore was still at the Force Intelligence Department for the planned interview at the time this report was filed, and the situation outside the complex was still tense but under control.
