Lagos CP Defends Declaring Sowore Wanted, Cites Planned Violent Protest

November 5, 2025
By Ayinde Adeleke

Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, has defended his decision to declare the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, wanted, insisting that the action was lawful and aimed at preventing a breakdown of public order.

Speaking on Wednesday, Jimoh said intelligence reports indicated that Sowore and his supporters were planning to block the Third Mainland Bridge as part of a protest in the state.

“I have the right to declare him wanted. Any person who says I don’t have such a right should go to court,” the Commissioner said.

According to him, police surveillance, including social media monitoring, showed that the planned demonstration could turn violent. He disclosed that operatives acted preemptively by blocking strategic locations and arresting 13 suspects believed to be involved in the plot.

“We don’t just declare him wanted. When he posted on his X handle that he had just taken a bath in Abuja and was heading to Lagos to block the Third Mainland Bridge, we moved in immediately,” he said.

Jimoh added that security operatives also impounded a vehicle equipped with loudspeakers and a generator allegedly intended for use during the protest.