Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, has said he would not honour a recent police re-invitation for questioning without receiving a valid invitation and a copy of the petition against him.
The police had re-invited Mr Sowore to appear before the Inspector General of Police Monitoring Unit in Abuja on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. over allegations of forgery and inciting disturbance.
The invitation followed an earlier one scheduled for August 4, which was postponed due to the reported unavailability of the unit head, deputy commissioner of police Akin Fakorede.
The case was said to have been reported on July 31.
In a post on Tuesday, Sowore said the investigating officer, Hafiz Garba, informed him of Mr Fakorede’s return and directed him to appear for the rescheduled meeting.
However, Sowore rejected the latest request, calling the initial invitation “invalid” and based on “legal fabrications.”
He argued that the police cited an offence, “inciting disturbance” which, according to him, is not recognised in Nigeria’s criminal law.
He also said the letter referred to Section 53(2) of the “ACJA 2025,” which he claimed is a non-existent provision in Nigeria’s legal framework.
The 54-year-old insisted that before he would respond to any further invitation, the police must issue a properly dated and signed letter along with an advance copy of the petition against him.
The police have not made any public statement in response to his position.
The invitation came days after Sowore joined a protest at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on July 21.
The protest by retired police officers called for their removal from the contributory pension scheme and demanded better welfare.
During the protest, Sowore alleged that his Ray-Ban Meta AI smart glasses were taken by a police officer.
He later identified the officer as Aku Chiemere, who he said is a cameraman attached to the office of the force public relations officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi.
He reported the incident at the Asokoro Police Division following a petition by his lawyer to the Force Criminal Investigation Department, which was redirected.
The police have not issued a public comment on the theft allegation.
In January, Sowore was charged with 17 counts of cybercrime in connection with his comments about the inspector general of police, Kayode Egbetokun.
He denied the charges and described them as politically motivated.
He has a history of confrontations with law enforcement authorities and has been detained on several occasions in the last five years.
