Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has accused the Nigerian government of hypocrisy and selective obedience to judicial rulings, after courts awarded damages in his favour on multiple occasions.
“For the record, this is now the third time Nigerian courts have awarded damages against the Federal Government in my favour,” Sowore said in a statement posted on social media.
He recalled that in 2019, Justice Anwuli Chikere of the Federal High Court ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to pay damages after his phones were seized during what he described as an “unlawful arrest” over the #RevolutionNow protests. “Despite the judgment, they have refused to pay and have never returned the confiscated devices,” he noted.
Sowore also referenced another ruling by Justice Egwuatu, who awarded damages against the DSS for abducting him inside a courtroom. “That act struck at the very heart of judicial authority,” he said, adding that the agency has yet to comply with the judgment or return his property.
Criticising what he called “institutional hypocrisy,” Sowore argued that government agencies demand respect for ex parte orders while ignoring judgments against them. “If the government expects citizens to honour judicial pronouncements, it must first demonstrate that it is not above the law,” he declared.
The activist vowed to pursue lawful enforcement of the judgment debts, stressing that any recovered funds would be redirected to vulnerable groups.
“They will be redirected to those who truly need support, residents of Oworonshoki whose homes were demolished, retired police officers, teachers abandoned in suffering, student activists facing repression, and others who continue to bear the brunt of state injustice,” Sowore said.
He concluded emphatically: “I must collect this debt!”
