Sowore also alleged that the attack was state-sponsored to stop him from mobilising youths against the Ekiti State government.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Human rights activist and the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has alleged that one of his attackers in Ado-Ekiti is on the “Ekiti government’s payroll”.
He made the shocking revelation on Friday while appearing as a guest on the Channels Television programme Politics Today.
Earlier, suspected political thugs reportedly attacked the AAC presidential candidate while he was in a restaurant in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.
Disclosing this in a brief statement posted on his official Facebook page on Friday, Sowore wrote, “Thugs just attacked us inside a restaurant in Ado Ekiti.”
However, in a follow-up interview on television, he alleged that the man who led the thugs that attacked him is on the payroll of the Ekiti State government.
According to him, the suspect is a known political thug in the state who has been settled with a government appointment.
”The guy that led my attack is on the Ekiti govt payroll. He is not a hidden person. He is a Senior Special Assistant to the Governor. I have his name, I have his picture,” Sowore said.
He alleged that the attack was state-sponsored to stop him from mobilising youths in the state against the government.
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Sowore said he had evidence, including pictures and videos, showing the suspect at the scene of the attack directing the thugs, and called on the Inspector-General of Police to arrest and prosecute the suspect immediately.
”If the police are serious, they should go and arrest him today. He is in Government House, collecting a salary from taxpayers’ money while leading thugs to beat citizens,” he added.
Sowore said the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) have refused to act because the suspect is close to the government.
Meanwhile, social media critic and internet personality Isaac Fayose has condemned the attack on Sowore and urged the activist-turned-politician to join other opposition figures to fight the President Bola Tinubu-led government.
Speaking via a video posted on his verified Facebook page on Friday, the influencer made it clear that Sowore cannot fight the system alone and needs to join forces with Peter Obi and other opposition leaders ahead of the 2027 general election.
”Sowore, you can’t fight alone. You need to unite with Peter Obi and other opposition figures. What happened to you in Ekiti can happen to anyone. This government does not want opposition,” Fayose said.
