By Kelvin Adegbenga
In recent days, Sahara Reporters has once again resorted to its usual tactics of twisting facts and misinforming the public regarding the ongoing criminal charges against its publisher, Mr. Omoyele Sowore.
The publication has described the charges bordering on alleged terrorism financing, forgery of police wireless message, and cybercrime as “bogus” and “trumped up.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
The reality is clear: the charges before the Federal High Court, Abuja, are legitimate, properly instituted, and grounded in law.
To portray them as defective or as an attempt to shrink Nigeria’s civil space is a deliberate distortion.
One must not forget that publishing documents marked “confidential” is a direct violation of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and also runs contrary to provisions of the Police Act 2020 (as amended).
The forgery and publication of a police wireless message is an act of criminality, not activism, and no society governed by the rule of law can tolerate such reckless impunity.
Even worse is the brazen character assassination carried out by Sahara Reporters when it maliciously referred to a dedicated female police officer as a “mistress” of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun.
This is not journalism, it is a smear campaign, and it violates both ethical standards of reporting and constitutional safeguards against defamation.
Sahara Reporters has also attempted to malign the integrity of Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, falsely claiming he is “toeing the line of the prosecution.”
This reckless attack on a sitting judge undermines the sanctity of the judiciary. For the record, Justice Nwite was never forced to adjourn the matter.
He exercised his discretion as the presiding judge and at no point backed down on ensuring that Sowore eventually takes his plea. To suggest otherwise is an insult to the judiciary and a dangerous attempt to whip up public sentiment against the court.
Furthermore, the claim by Sowore’s counsel, Marshal, that the IGP and the police are aggrieved because Sowore and a group of retired police officers staged a protest for better welfare is patently false.
The charges against Sowore have nothing to do with welfare protests but everything to do with terrorism financing, cybercrime, and forgery of official police communications, offences the law rightly takes very seriously.
It is high time Sahara Reporters and Sowore’s legal team respected the authority of the Federal High Court. They must stop preempting judicial processes and harassing the presiding judge through media propaganda.
Nigeria is a country governed by laws, and no individual, no matter his political ambition or media influence, is above those laws.
The facts speak for themselves: these charges are not bogus, they are not defective, and they are certainly not an attempt to stifle free speech. They are a lawful response to criminal allegations that must be tried in court, not in the media.
Kelvin Adegbenga is the National Coordinator of Integrity Youth Alliance and writes from Wuse II, Abuja. email: kelvinadegbenga@yahoo.com
