Human rights activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, has criticised the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Olohundare Jimoh, over his declaration as a wanted person, accusing the police of trying to suppress his voice and twist the truth about events in Oworonshoki.
Reacting via his social media handle on Monday, Sowore said the police chief had refused to answer his calls despite several attempts to reach him since the announcement. He described the move as “an effort to intimidate activists and hide state-sanctioned wrongdoing.”
“The Lagos Police Commissioner, Moshood Jimoh, has reportedly declared me wanted for ‘disturbance of public peace’—apparently because his officers failed to carry out an illegal ‘shoot-on-sight’ order given by his IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, in Oworonshoki today,” Sowore wrote.
He added that he intends to meet the police chief soon to “set the record straight,” insisting that his engagement with Lagos residents was peaceful and constitutionally protected.
Earlier in the day, CP Jimoh had told reporters at Iyana-Oworo, near the Third Mainland Bridge, that Sowore was wanted for allegedly plotting to cause public unrest and obstruct traffic across key parts of Lagos.
The commissioner said intelligence reports revealed plans by Sowore and others to stage coordinated demonstrations at strategic points, including the Third Mainland Bridge, Lekki Toll Gate, and Freedom Park.
“It is only someone who needs examination that would attempt to block such a vital route used by thousands daily,” Jimoh said, adding that 13 suspects had already been arrested in connection with the planned protest, while Sowore “fled the scene.”
He also warned that any attempt to disrupt movement or damage infrastructure would be met with firm resistance, saying that “the Third Mainland Bridge was not designed to hold stationary weight” and that large gatherings on the bridge could pose structural risks.
Addressing the wider controversy surrounding recent demolitions in the Oworo-Soki area, the police chief maintained that affected residents were duly compensated and that agitators were using the issue to incite unrest.
“The government compensated those affected, and the media witnessed it. There is no justification to provoke crisis under the guise of protest,” he said.
Jimoh urged Lagosians to continue their daily activities without fear, assuring that security agencies were fully mobilised to maintain order across the state.
“We are not sleeping. We will apprehend, investigate, and prosecute anyone attempting to undermine public safety in Lagos,” he said, while emphasizing that freedom of expression must not be used as a cover for actions that threaten peace or endanger lives.
