Court Slams Police with ₦30m Fine Over ‘Wanted’ Tag on Sowore
By: Oluwaseun Lawal
It was a declaration that made headlines.
Now, a court says it shouldn’t have happened at all.
The Federal High Court in Lagos has ruled that the Nigeria Police Force acted unlawfully when it declared activist and SaharaReporters publisher Omoyele Sowore wanted in 2025.
In a firm decision delivered by Justice Musa Kakaaki, the court held that the action breached constitutional safeguards and amounted to an abuse of power. The judge didn’t mince words. He described the move as lawless.
As a consequence, the court awarded ₦30 million in damages against the police, the Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh.
The ruling centred on events from late 2025. On October 27, Commissioner Jimoh had directed Sowore to stay away from Lagos State. Days later, on November 3, a public notice declared him wanted over an alleged attempt to mobilise a protest on the Third Mainland Bridge concerning demolitions in Oworonshoki.
But the court said the law is clear. Before anyone can be declared wanted, there must be a valid court-issued warrant. Proper notice. Credible evidence that the person is deliberately evading lawful judicial process. None of that, the judge found, was in place.
Justice Kakaaki emphasised that no Nigerian should be criminalised for exercising rights to free speech, peaceful protest or holding authorities accountable. To do so, he suggested, chips away at constitutional democracy itself.
Sowore had approached the court seeking enforcement of his fundamental rights — dignity, liberty, movement, expression and assembly. In his filings, he argued that he was never invited formally, never presented with an arrest warrant, never charged before being branded “wanted.” He also sought ₦500 million in damages, though the court awarded ₦30 million instead.
The police had defended their action, insisting the commissioner acted within legal powers. Jimoh, speaking on Channels Television at the time, maintained that the declaration remained in force and denied allegations that the Inspector-General ordered Sowore to be shot on sight, calling such claims misinformation.
Still, the court was unmoved.
In the end, it wasn’t about politics. Or protests.
It was about procedure. And whether power was exercised within the law.
On that question, the court answer was simple: it wasn’t.
