African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate and activist Omoyele Sowore has accused the prosecution in his ongoing case with the federal government of punishing him rather than following due process.

Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS, Sowore rejected suggestions that his accusation of President Bola Tinubu was merely a political opinion, maintaining that it was based on facts he believes can be tested through the judicial process.

“It’s a statement of fact. And it says that if anybody has been involved in drug dealing, drug trafficking, there’s no status of limitation.

“The NDLEA can still try you, even if you are president, when your presidency is over. We can make that point. And in this case, it’s not just that.

“During End SARS—there was a case that was active at the Federal High Court of embezzlement of billions of tax—taxes that were supposed to be paid by Alpha Beta, that’s linked to this president. He never handled that case.

“We were told after End SARS that the documents were burnt in the courtroom so that they can cover it up. And we have several of these,” Sowore said.

Sowore added that he had urged the authorities to allow the matter to proceed to trial so he could present his evidence, alleging that efforts had instead been made to frustrate his defence.

“What I told them is that, why don’t you just calm down? Let’s prove this case in court. But when we were at the point of proving the case the most, our attorney was ripping apart their one single witness—a DSS guy who said he found out that I made this statement. The judge got upset.

“He said, ‘Stop. If you don’t stop, come and kneel down here.’ It’s never happened before. Trying to ask my lead attorney, Marshal Abubakar, to kneel down before a judge because they didn’t want us to present our evidence.

“They are interested in convicting, punishing me without conviction,” he alleged.

Sowore argued that freedom of expression should be protected under the rule of law and not be determined by those in power. He maintained that the Cybercrime Act should not be used to silence critics or criminalise comments about public officials.

His remarks come amid his ongoing trial over social media posts in which he referred to President Tinubu as a “criminal.”

The case led to the revocation of his bail after he failed to appear in court, although he was later granted fresh bail under stricter conditions.

Sowore also reaffirmed that his activism is driven by a commitment to justice rather than political ambition, saying he would continue to speak out against what he considers injustice regardless of the personal consequences. (The Sun)

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