Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has criticised the Federal Government over the continued trial of IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, describing it as unnecessary and a distraction from Nigeria’s real security problems. Speaking to journalists after court proceedings in Abuja, Sowore said the altercation that led to Kanu being ordered out of court reflects the tension surrounding a case he believes should never have begun.
Sowore argued that Nigeria is battling severe security challenges that deserve urgent national attention. According to him, the country should be focused on rescuing abducted schoolgirls, recovering the body of a brigadier general recently killed, and protecting communities under constant attack. Instead, he said, Nigeria has spent nearly ten years prosecuting a man “whose only weapons are a microphone and a radio transmitter.”
He criticised the evidence presented by the prosecution, noting that even interviews Kanu granted to Sahara Reporters were being used against him. Sowore questioned whether speaking to the media should be treated as a criminal offence, insisting that the trial lacks merit and is driven by political motives rather than justice.
Sowore also dismissed claims that Yoruba people are responsible for the alleged injustices against Kanu. He warned that ethnicity is often weaponised by the Nigerian state to divide citizens, even though politicians unite across tribal and religious lines when sharing national resources. He urged Nigerians not to fall for divisive narratives that could trigger violence or misunderstandings between ethnic groups.
On the issue of a potential breakdown of law and order in the Southeast, Sowore said the country is already in a state of chaos. He argued that the killing of a brigadier general and the widespread kidnappings across Nigeria show that there is already a collapse of security. He accused the government of creating false narratives to criminalise peaceful protesters, recalling how he spent four days in Kuje Prison simply for supporting Kanu’s release.
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Sowore added that he was later declared wanted in Lagos for protesting against the demolition of Yoruba people’s homes, stressing that poor and hungry citizens should not be manipulated into seeing each other as enemies. According to him, Nigeria needs a fundamental political transformation to escape its current state.
Concluding his remarks, Sowore said only a revolution can address Nigeria’s deep-rooted injustice and misgovernance, expressing confidence that the country must eventually confront this reality
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