The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, has restated that his declaration of activist Omoyele Sowore as wanted remains valid, vowing that the police will pursue all lawful means to ensure his arrest.
Jimoh had on Monday declared Sowore wanted for allegedly “causing a disturbance of public peace and acts to commit a serious felony by planning to obstruct traffic on the Third Mainland Bridge.”
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, the Commissioner said Sowore has not yet presented himself to the police and reiterated his commitment to following through with the case.
“My declaration that Sowore is wanted is still in force,” CP Jimoh stated during the programme.
He explained that Sowore’s lawyer contacted him via text message on Monday while he was responding to a riot, and that the message was forwarded to the Officer-in-Charge of Legal at the Nigerian Police Force for appropriate action.
“They agreed that Sowore will turn up at the CID because that is where the investigation is being carried out. The normal practice in investigation is to conclude inquiries before going for arrest,” he said.
Jimoh, however, expressed disappointment that Sowore failed to honour the agreement.
“Throughout yesterday he has failed to report, and we are going to do everything within the ambit of the law to get him arrested, investigated, and prosecuted for these offences,” he added.
The Police Commissioner emphasized that he acted within his powers by declaring Sowore wanted, urging anyone who disagrees to challenge the decision in court.
‘No order to shoot at sight’
Addressing Sowore’s claim that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, ordered that he be shot on sight, Jimoh dismissed it as “a major misinformation.”
He said the IGP would never issue such a directive, describing the allegation as false and intended to incite public unrest.
“I think that is a great misinformation to the general public and to Nigerians at large, which no organisation will take lightly. The Inspector General of the Nigerian Police will never give such an order and has never given such an order,” CP Jimoh said.
“For what reason will he give such an order against anybody across the country? That is where people will know that Sowore, in all ramifications, is planning, and has even begun to put plans in place, to cause mayhem across Lagos. That is why I went all out to declare him wanted.
“So, for him to say that the IGP has ordered that he be shot on sight is a big misinformation and mischievous, which he is known for.”