Nigerian activist and 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has claimed that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is more afraid of unarmed protesters than of those bearing arms.
Sowore made the statement during an interview on Arise Television on Wednesday, where he condemned what he described as the government’s continued persecution of peaceful demonstrators.
“I do. I do completely,” Sowore said when asked if he believed the federal government was afraid of protesters. “They are afraid of placards more than they are afraid of guns because they have the capacity to respond to people who are shooting at the government, but they have no capacity, they have no ability, and they have no strategy to stop the majority.
“People in their light numbers carrying placards are more dangerous than people in their light numbers carrying guns.”
The activist further criticized the handling of the ongoing trial of eleven #EndBadGovernance protesters who are facing treason charges. He described the case as both baseless and politically driven.
“As is typical of the Nigerian police—the prosecutors in this case—they came to court asking for an adjournment, claiming that the police officer who started the prosecution has been retired, which is false,” Sowore stated.
“He wasn’t retired. He was dismissed from the police force for altering his age. In the first place, the originator of the charges is also going to be facing charges in the next one week or so for altering his age.”
Sowore revealed that the government had previously dropped similar charges against minors involved in earlier protests due to the embarrassment it caused. However, he noted that the authorities were determined to continue prosecuting the current batch of protesters in a bid to discourage others from taking part in future peaceful demonstrations.
“But for these ones, they want to continue to use them to discourage others who might get involved in peaceful protests in the future,” he said.
Sowore’s comments come amid growing concerns over the shrinking civic space in Nigeria, where several activists and protesters have been arrested or harassed in recent months.
