Crime

Breaking: Deny Bail, Sowore Sleeps In Police Custody (IRT)

Published

1 year ago

January 27, 2025

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Breaking: Deny Bail, Sowore Sleeps In Police Custody (IRT)

Deny bail, Sowore sleeps in police custody. Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore is being detained at the Nigerian Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) office at Old Abattoir by Guzape Junction, Abuja, following his refusal to accept the bail conditions imposed by the police.

Sowore earlier announced that the police would hold him in custody until further notice due to the parties’ failure to reach an agreement on the bail conditions.

The former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) has described the bail conditions as “illegal”.

However, sources informed Reporters that Sowore was subsequently taken to the IRT office at Old Abattoir, a location previously used by the now-defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Abuja.
“Sowore is being detained at the IRT office in Apo, Abbatoir Police Station in Guzape,” one of sources said.

The conditions include producing a level 16 civil servant as a surety and surrendering his passport.
Sowore had honoured an invitation by the police over his exposé on officers allegedly extorting motorists along Ikeja, Lagos State.

However, he rejected the bail terms twice.
“He rejected their bail conditions twice because he is not prospered to honour any illegal bail conditions but as SaharaReporters had initially disclosed in its reports, the goal was to fly him to the Lagos State Criminal Investigation Department at the Commissioner’s Office and then charge him to court and not grant him bail,” a source privy to the situation told SaharaReporters on Monday.

Rejecting the bail conditions, Sowore via his X handle on Monday, said, “The PoliceNG team assigned to my case has informed me that the DIG of FID, Dasuki Galandachi, has reevaluated my bail conditions, necessitating the production of a level 16 civil servant and the surrender of my international passport, a condition I have declined outright.

“I refuse to participate in any arrangement that undermines my personal integrity.”
His legal counsel, Femi Falana (SAN), backed his stance, citing a Court of Appeal ruling in Dasuki v. Director-General.

Falana stated that such conditions had previously been declared illegal.
Earlier, Sowore rejected the initial bail conditions granted to him by the police – which asked him to present a level 17 Permanent Secretary – describing it as a joke.

In a post on his X handle, he said, “I have rejected a bail condition asking me to present a level 17 Permanent Secretary, instead I have offered to remain in police custody pending when the joke is over with.”

The police invitation to Sowore followed a viral video he recorded, highlighting extortion by police officers on the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Access Road in Lagos.

In their letter, the police claimed they are investigating Sowore for “resisting and obstructing public officers, disobedience to lawful order, acts intended to cause grievous harm or prevent arrest, compelling action by intimidation, reckless & negligent acts, refusal to assist public servant and cyberstalking in which your name featured, prominently”.

On Saturday, Reporters reported that Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, secretly planned to fly Sowore from Abuja to Lagos on Monday after he honours the police invitation on January 27, 2025.

Sources informed SaharaReporters on Saturday that the invitation is not related to the video but stems from a deep-seated personal grudge that Police Boss Egbetokun holds against the Publisher of SaharaReporters.

According to sources, the invitation is motivated by Sowore’s nickname for Egbetokun – “Illegal IG,” in reference to his tenure being extended beyond the retirement age.

For example, on December 20, 2024, Sowore called for the release of Olamide Thomas, a nurse detained for allegedly insulting President Bola Tinubu’s son, Seyi, as well as Egbetokun and the Force spokesman, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a social media post.

In the post, Sowore said, “The illegal IG of Nigeria Police Force, Kayode Egbetokun will make the next #ENDSARS inevitable! He is working tirelessly towards it. Just a matter of time! #EgbetokunMustGo #Revolution freeolamidenow.”

Sources close to the matter revealed that Egbetokun was still smarting from being labelled “Illegal IG” by Sowore, following the extension of his tenure beyond the mandatory retirement age.

“The plot being hatched by the inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun had nothing to do very much with the viral anti-extortion video for which Sowore has now been invited for interview on Monday at the Police Headquarters in Abuja,” a source told SaharaReporters on Saturday.

Sowore

Instead Reporters learnt from sources that the IGP “holds a very-very personal grudge against the publisher of SaharaReporters over his constant referral to him an ‘illegal IGP’”, a sobriquet Sowore adopted since last year when the IGP’s tenure was extended beyond his retirement age.

Also, according to sources, Egbetokun had been monitoring how to “deal” with Sowore and had informed senior police officers in his circle that he would take his pound of flesh whenever the opportunity arose.

However, the reality is that after Sowore encountered policemen engaging in illegal roadblocks and extortion on the way to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, all the policemen involved were rounded up and they confessed to their illegal acts.

“Their lead also told the police hierarchy that they recognised Sowore and let him go not knowing he caught them on tape operating an illegal checkpoint,” a source also said on Saturday.

“However, the DIG in charge of the Force Intelligence Department (FID) (DIG Dasuki D. Galadanchi); Chief Legal Officer of the NPF, Samuel Lough and the Force PRO (Adejobi) and the PSO (Principal Staff Officer – Johnson Adenola) to the IGP have been deliberating for weeks since the video went viral on how to get Sowore implicated in a string of crimes.

“They’ve also got the CPs of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Center (NPF-NCCC) and the IRT unit involved and deliberated for weeks on the best strategy to employ considering how delicate the situation is because of the public.”

The sources revealed that it was decided a few days ago that Sowore should be officially invited, interrogated, and detained in Abuja before being flown to Lagos to face trial.

According to them, the plan is for a judge to either deny him bail or set bail conditions so high that he would be remanded in prison custody for a while.

Crime

EFCC Arrests Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for Alleged Naira Mutilation In Viral Video

Published

11 hours ago

February 3, 2026

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EFCC Arrests Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for Alleged Naira Mutilation In Viral Video

EFCC arrests Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for alleged naira mutilation in viral video. The Kano Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 arrested a Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa over alleged Naira mutilation.

Inuwa was arrested following a viral video circulated on social media platforms where she was seen conspicuously cleaning mucus from her nose using Naira notes.

EFCC

Following the release of the viral video, the Commission swung into action by tracing and subsequently arrested her to answer questions.
She is currently being held at the Commission’s detention facility while investigation is ongoing.

The suspect will be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.

Dele Oyewale
Head, Media & Publicity
February 3, 2026

Crime

EFCC Arrests 10 Suspects, Trucks for Suspected Illegal Mining Activities in Kwara

Published

1 day ago

February 3, 2026

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EFCC Arrests 10 Suspects, Trucks for Suspected Illegal Mining Activities in Kwara

Operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested ten individuals suspected of involvement in illegal mining activities along the Ilorin – Ogbomosho axis.

They were arrested on Sunday, February 1, 2026, following credible intelligence on unlawful mineral excavation and transportation in parts of Kwara and Oyo States.

The suspects, comprising nine truck drivers and one escort were intercepted and taken into custody in a well -coordinated sting operation. Solid minerals arrested with the suspects include lithium, tin, and lepidolite.

EFCC Arrests 10 Suspects

The suspects have no requisite licences, permits, or regulatory approvals for their mining activities.

Other items recovered from the suspects are trucks loaded with the unlawfully mined materials.

The suspects will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.

Crime

List Of 40 Suspects Detained Over Alleged Plot To Overthrow Tinubu Government

Published

3 days ago

February 1, 2026

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Tinubu Has Directed Us To Rebuild National Security Architecture

List Of 40 Suspects Detained Over Alleged Plot To Overthrow Tinubu Government

List of 40 suspects detained over alleged plot to overthrow Tinubu Government. Nigerian security agencies have concluded investigations into an alleged coup plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s administration, with at least 40 suspects detained in connection with the conspiracy.

The suspects include senior military officers, a police officer, and several civilians accused of roles ranging from reconnaissance and funding to propaganda.

According to a Premium Times report, the arrests followed a covert intelligence operation coordinated by the Army Headquarters and the State Security Service (SSS).

“Thirteen people were apprehended by the SSS, including two military personnel (one retired), one policeman, and ten civilians,” one source said.

In total, 16 serving military officers were detained for direct involvement, while others were linked to funding and incitement. Two civilians were reportedly recruited to incite civil unrest intended to justify the coup.

According to the online newspaper, one of the detained soldiers was said to have escaped custody but was later rearrested by SSS operatives in Bauchi State, according to insider accounts.

Recall that on Monday, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) confirmed that the investigation had been completed and forwarded to “appropriate superior authority in line with extant regulations.”

“Findings identified several officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government,” the military said, describing the act as “inconsistent with the ethics, values and professional standards required of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.”

Sources said authorities are now awaiting presidential approval to constitute a court-martial panel to try the indicted soldiers.

Investigations revealed that the coupists initially planned to disrupt the May 29, 2023 handover ceremony from former President Muhammadu Buhari to President Tinubu, but the plan was shelved due to lack of funds and logistics.

The conspiracy was allegedly reactivated in 2025, after former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva purportedly transferred nearly ₦1 billion through multiple Bureau De Change accounts to fund the operation.

Sylva and a retired senior officer identified as Major General Adamu, both accused of bankrolling the plot, are reportedly at large.

Security sources said one of the fugitive suspects has been tracked to a South American country, though his precise location remained undisclosed for security reasons.

Investigators also uncovered a chilling plan to assassinate top government officials, including President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

“They were waiting for a day when all of them would be in the country. Wherever they were, they would be assassinated,” one source revealed.

The plot allegedly relied on informants inside the Presidential Villa, who monitored the movements of top officials. The conspirators were to seize control of strategic locations such as the Presidential Villa, Niger Barracks, Armed Forces Complex, and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

Military

Hereunder is the full list of the alleged coupists arrested

MA Sadiq (Brigadier General) Army lHeadquarters Garrison

MA Ma’aji (Colonel) Defence Space Administration

S Bappah (Lt. Colonel) 525 Signal Regiment

AA Hayatu (Lt Colonel) 130 Battalion Main, Ogoja, Cross River State

P Dangnap (Lt Colonel) 134 Special Force Battalion

M Almakura (Lt Colonel) 197 Special Force Battalion

AA Jarma (Lt Colonel) CO, 35 Battalion Katsina

SM Gana (Lt Colonel) 115 Task Force Battalion

AD Dauda (Maj) Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji

JM GANAKS (Maj) Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji

AJ Ibrahim (Maj) Army Headquarters’ Department of Policy and Plans

MM Jiddah (Maj) 26 Battalion

MA Usman (Maj) 35 Battalion

D Yusuf (Maj) Forward Operating Base Molai (AHQ SG)

J Iliyasu (Maj) 3 Division Garrison

A Mohammed (Maj) 63 Brigade Garrison

DB Abdullahi (Lt Cdr) Naval Base Abuja

SB Adamu (Sqn Ldr) National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC)

NG Zuzu (Sqn Ldr) Headquarters, Nigeria Air Force Camp

G Binuga (Captain) 1 NMF Brigade

AA Yusuf (Captain) Nigerian Army of the School of Finance and Administration (NASFA)

1 Bello (Captain) 82 Division Garrison

SS Felix (Lt) 81 Division Provost Group

J Aminu (Lt) Headquarters Directorate of Army Public Relations (DAPR)

Nasiru Ibrahim (WO) 82 Division Garrison

Sanda Usman (Sgt) 167 Special Force Battalion

Mohammed Zubairu (Sgt) 177 Guards Battalion

Momoh Audu (Cpl) 343 Artillery Regiment

Ahmed Ibrahim (Inspector) 24 Police Mobile Force, Presidential Villa

EO Victor (Navy Capt/Rtd) 3 Abraham Avenue off Odili Road, Port Harcourt

Umoru Zekeri Julius Berger, Villa Electrician

Y Nasiru (LCpl) 82 Division Garrison

Sambo Danladi (LCpl) 82 Division Garrison

Abdul Abdullahi (SSgt) 82 Division Garrison

Ali Isah Villa Ambulance Driver

ML Mohammed (Capt) 18 Battalion

UI Yusuf (Wg Cdr) International/Helicopter Flying School, Enugu

IM Gana (Maj Gen Rtd) No 34 A Army Estate, Kubwa, Abuja

Stanley Kingley Amandi Propagandist

Goni Bukar

Security sources confirmed that joint operations involving multiple agencies are underway to dismantle remaining cells and track fleeing suspects. The EFCC and SSS are also interrogating several civilians over alleged roles in funding, logistics, and coordination.

At least 25 military personnel are expected to face trial in connection with the plot, according to sources close to the investigation.