The 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has vehemently rejected the bail conditions set by the police, stating that even if President Bola Tinubu were to offer to stand as his bail surety, he would not accept.
Sowore is currently in police custody following his invitation for questioning over allegations of cyberstalking, negligent acts, and intimidation.
The police investigation stems from a viral video in which Sowore confronted officers at a Lagos checkpoint after they stopped his vehicle.
Sowore criticized the bail conditions imposed by the police, which required him to surrender his international passport and present a level 17 civil servant as a surety.
Describing the conditions as “laughable, frivolous, and ridiculous,” he questioned the legitimacy of the police’s authority to impose administrative bail. Sowore argued that the police had no right to impose such terms, especially one demanding a civil servant of a specific rank, calling it a form of corruption and an insult.
He expressed his opposition to participating in what he considered an illegality, stating:
“I cannot in good conscience continue to participate in illegality… the police have no right to grant administrative bail that asks for civil servants to own, first and foremost, N100 million houses, which is a crime… it’s corruption to stand bail for me, who is an employer of labour.”
Sowore emphasized that as a publisher and human rights activist, he has dedicated his life to fighting corruption and would not be insulted by the demands of the police.
He also criticized the requirement to provide a level 17 civil servant—a rank that typically refers to a permanent secretary, politically appointed by the president, and questioned whether such an individual could ethically serve as his surety.
Sowore reflected on his past, recalling that in 1992, as a student leader, he had more influence than Tinubu, who was a senator at the time.
He added that Tunde Egbetokun, the current Lagos State Commissioner of Police, would likely have been a sergeant or junior officer during that period, insinuating that the police officers involved in his case lacked the authority to impose such demands.
The human rights activist, known for his outspokenness, has vowed to reject the bail conditions and continue his fight against impunity and corruption in Nigeria.