Sowore’s Supporters Destroy Journalist’s Car, Harass Others

By Vivian Okejeme

Supporters of Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), on Wednesday destroyed the car of a journalist, Olakunle Olasanmi of LEADERSHIP Newspapers, at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The supporters, who reportedly went on a rampage and became unruly whenever the criminal case filed against Sowore by the Department of State Services (DSS) came up before the court, smashed the windscreen of Olasanmi’s Toyota Venza.

The Federal Government is prosecuting Sowore over allegations of cyberbullying after he allegedly described President Bola Tinubu as a criminal in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Sowore, however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges before Justice Mohammed Umar.

Olasanmi had driven into the premises of the Federal High Court, Abuja, at about 11 a.m. to park his car before proceeding into the courtroom for the day’s proceedings.

However, after failing to secure a parking space within the court premises, he decided to drive out and park at an extension of the court’s parking area outside the premises.

As he attempted to turn left at the court gate to access the parking area, Sowore’s supporters, who were reportedly in their hundreds, surrounded his vehicle and blocked his passage.

While he pleaded with them to clear the road to allow him access to the parking area, some of the supporters allegedly struck his windscreen and shattered it.

When Sowore emerged from the courtroom, Olasanmi approached him over the incident. Sowore reportedly promised to take responsibility for the damage but allegedly reneged on the promise a few hours later.

Some of Olasanmi’s colleagues also recounted their experiences with Sowore’s supporters.

Shortly after the attack, a former chairman of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC), the umbrella body of journalists covering the courts, Mr Kayode Lawal, informed his colleagues that Olasanmi had been attacked by Sowore’s supporters.

He said: “Sowore’s supporters went on a rampage this morning, smashing the windscreen of the Toyota Venza belonging to our chairman, Mr Kunle Olasanmi, outside the gate of the Federal High Court.”

Meanwhile, Mrs Celestina Iria said she also had an altercation with Sowore before the case commenced on Wednesday.

Celestina said: “I confronted him about his constant bullying of TVC over its coverage of the proceedings. The first incident happened on the first floor when the judge was about to rule on his application for recusal from the case.

“My cameraman came to take shots inside the court, and Sowore started saying that TVC had already seen the judgment/ruling of the court, which was why they had come to take his picture.

“He then went ahead to post the clips on his Twitter handle.

“The last incident happened on Monday when he accused my cameraman of pretending to record him even though his camera lens was closed. That video also trended.”

Ikechukwu Nnochirim of Vanguard Newspapers also said he had a difficult time driving through the crowd when he arrived at the court in the morning.

He said: “I think it is about time they stopped them from protesting in front of the court whenever the case is ongoing!

“I kept honking before they finally made way for me to pass.”