A coalition of civil society organisations has reported popular activist and 2023 presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, to the National Human Rights Commission, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, and media regulators.
They called on these agencies to publicly distance themselves from Sowore’s tactics, stating that “silence is complicity.”;
The coalition demanded an immediate investigation of Sowore.
The demand stems from what they described as a sustained campaign of cyberbullying, misinformation, and character assassination by the activist-politician.
Addressing the press in Abuja on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, the Independent Public Service and Accountability Watch, in collaboration with allied civil society organisations (CSOs), accused Sowore of using his media platform to spread falsehoods and incite public distrust under the guise of activism.
Adeniran Taiwo, spokesperson for the coalition, said, “What began as a promising voice of dissent has now descended into a toxic cocktail of arrogance, misinformation, and deliberate blackmail.”;
They urged the multiple-time presidential candidate not to allow his news platform to be used as a tool for personal vengeance rather than truth.
The coalition warned that Sowore’s brand of activism was “digital terrorism in disguise,”; adding that his actions amount to indoctrination of Nigeria’s youth against patriotism and national identity.
“He has made a career of malicious blackmail... painting Nigeria as a failed state to advance a chaos-driven agenda,”; Taiwo said.
They called on the National Human Rights Commission, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, and media regulators to publicly distance themselves from Sowore’s tactics, reiterating that “silence is complicity.”;
The group concluded by urging the government to act swiftly, warning that failure to hold Sowore accountable could embolden further abuse of digital freedoms under the guise of civic engagement.
