The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has criticised the reported court order directing six banks to provide the Inspector-General of Police with account details linked to activist and publisher Omoyele Sowore.
In a statement signed by its Executive Director, RULAAC described the move as a “misplaced priority,” accusing the Nigeria Police Force of focusing on perceived regime critics instead of confronting the country’s worsening insecurity.
“At a time when Nigerians are groaning under unprecedented levels of kidnapping, armed robbery, cult violence, banditry, and terrorism, the police leadership has chosen to channel resources into scrutinising the bank accounts of a citizen whose major ‘crime’ is exercising free expression and political dissent,” the statement read.
The organisation argued that the police action highlighted two key problems: a “weakness of prioritisation” and an “erosion of credibility.” It warned that such politically motivated pursuits divert scarce resources from intelligence gathering, patrols, community safety, and real investigations, thereby worsening insecurity and deepening public mistrust in the police.
“Every time the police get embroiled in distractions of this nature, their institutional capacity to combat real criminals diminishes,” RULAAC noted.
The group stressed that the legitimacy of the police rests on protecting citizens, not appeasing political interests. “Pursuing Sowore’s bank records may serve as a headline-grabbing stunt, but it only exposes the institution’s inability to confront its constitutional duty of combating crime and protecting Nigerians,” it added.
