A Nigerian civil society organisation on Saturday condemned an attack on opposition figure and activist Omoyele Sowore in Ekiti State, accusing suspected security agents attached to the state’s Government House of carrying it out and demanding a full investigation.
The Community Outreach for Development and Welfare Advocacy (CODWA) called the incident “a primitive use of state apparatus against a citizen” in a press statement dated Oct. 31. It also said it held the Ekiti State Government liable for Sowore’s safety.
The group said Sowore had contributed significantly to establishing civil rule in Nigeria, citing his record as a student activist and in the pro-democracy movements. “We are first-hand witnesses to Sowore’s contributions,” it said.
CODWA asked why the state government was “afraid of Sowore” and questioned how far power could “intoxicate” an elected official holding authority in trust for the public. It called for the prosecution of everyone involved in what it described as a “barbaric attack.”
The statement was signed by Executive Director Taiwo Omoniyi Otitolaye.
Sowore, the 2027 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), said in a Facebook post on Friday that thugs had attacked him inside a restaurant in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital. He later accused the Ekiti State Government and the Department of State Services (DSS) of sponsoring the attack, saying the assailants came from the Government House and received tracking and operational support from the DSS.
Neither the Ekiti State Government nor the DSS had publicly responded to the accusations when his post circulated online. Reuters could not independently verify the competing accounts.
Police described the incident as an altercation with some individuals and said Sowore sustained a minor injury. Sowore rejected that description, saying: “There was no altercation! We were attacked!”
Sowore has also alleged that the man who led the attackers is a Senior Special Assistant to the Ekiti State Governor. He has said he would pursue legal action against the organisers and the state government, both nationally and internationally.
His party has warned it could mobilise a mass protest at the Ekiti State Government House if the security agencies fail to act.
