The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, has justified his decision to declare activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, wanted, saying the move was lawful and aimed at preventing a potential breakdown of public order.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, Jimoh maintained that his actions were backed by the Constitution and taken in the interest of public safety.
“I have the right to declare him wanted. Any person who says I don’t have such a right should go to court,” he said.
The police commissioner alleged that security agencies had monitored posts from Sowore’s X account suggesting plans to mobilise protesters to block the Third Mainland Bridge. According to him, this prompted swift preventive action by the police, including cordoning off strategic areas and arresting 13 suspects linked to the planned protest.
He added that a vehicle containing loudspeakers and a generator meant for the protest was seized.
“I don’t just declare (Sowore) wanted,” Jimoh explained. “When he posted something on his X handle… that he had just taken a bath in Abuja and the next point is Lagos, to block the Third Mainland Bridge — we were well prepared. We cordoned off the entire area where he’s designated to come and conduct these violent protests. And we ensured that we made alternative arrangements for people to use.”
Jimoh emphasised that his duty as police commissioner was to prevent violence and safeguard lives and property.
“I have the right under the Constitution to prevent crime from occurring, to prevent anybody that wants to take us into the house, to cause mayhem across the country,” he added.
He, however, clarified that the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) had no involvement in declaring Sowore wanted, describing reports suggesting otherwise as “mischievous. The IGP, I say without any doubt, has not given such an order. And he has not given it not only to me, to virtually all the police institutions across the country,” Jimoh stated.
The controversy began on November 3, when the police declared Sowore was wanted for allegedly planning a protest capable of disturbing public peace and obstructing traffic.
Sowore has since dismissed the police declaration as illegal. In a statement, he argued that no police officer has the authority to declare any citizen wanted without a court order, insisting that the move was an act of intimidation.
He alleged that the declaration came after police officers failed to execute what he described as an alleged “shoot-at-sight” order during a protest in Oworonshoki.
“I was informed that he (IGP Egbetokun) dispatched police officers to ambush me today. When this attempt failed, they declared me wanted,” Sowore wrote.
Jimoh firmly denied the allegation, stressing that no “shoot-at-sight” directive had ever been issued by the police or the IGP.
