- The Nigeria Police Force said the N30 million damages awarded to Omoyele Sowore were being processed by the appropriate office in Lagos following a Federal High Court ruling
- Benjamin Hundeyin clarified that the judgment named the Lagos Commissioner of Police, not the Inspector-General, as responsible for settling the payment
- The court had ruled that Sowore’s November 2025 “wanted” declaration by the Lagos police was unlawful and a violation of his fundamental rights
The Nigeria Police Force has said that the payment of N30 million in damages awarded to activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, is being processed by the appropriate office in Lagos, following a Federal High Court ruling that declared his “wanted” status unlawful.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this on Monday while appearing on Politics Today on Channels Television. He was responding to questions on whether the police had complied with the court order directing payment of N30m to Sowore.
According to Hundeyin, the judgment clearly specified the office responsible for settling the damages, noting that it did not place the obligation directly on the Inspector-General of Police.
“There’s a name to it, not just the police. I think that judgment named the particular office. It didn’t say IGP. It is the Commissioner of Police. Well, that (money) is being sorted out in Lagos. It’s a particular office,” he said.
He criticised what he described as attempts to misrepresent the issue by associating the matter solely with the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
“But that’s part of the mischief we’re talking about. Why would you (Sowore) say the Commissioner of Police in Lagos has not paid the money and you’re putting the picture of the IGP? So, for people who will not be patient enough to read the text, they’ll just see the IGP (face) and conclude that is what it is,” Hundeyin added.
He further revealed that the police hierarchy had sought and obtained an injunction restraining Sowore and Sahara Reporters from what he termed further embarrassing the IGP through “frivolities, falsehoods and fabricated claims”.
Earlier on Monday, Sowore had expressed frustration on his official X account, alleging that the police had yet to comply with the Federal High Court judgment.
The ruling, delivered last Friday by Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos, held that the November 2025 declaration of Sowore as wanted by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh, was unlawful and a violation of his fundamental rights. The court subsequently awarded N30m in damages against both the Lagos police commissioner and the Inspector-General of Police.
Sowore had been declared wanted on 3 November 2025 over alleged public disturbance after joining residents protesting demolitions in the Oworonshoki area of Lagos State.
The controversy has since triggered a renewed war of words between the activist and the police, as attention turns to full compliance with the court’s directive.