By Adesina Soyooye
African Action Congress Presidential Candidate in the 2023 Presidential Election, Omoyele Sowore, has denied that he held a press conference inside the Chambers of a Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.
He denied this in response to the Nigerian Bar Association following NBA’s criticism of his conduct at the Federal High Court.
In denying the allegation, Sowore accused the NBA of what he called “selective outrage, falsehood, and shielding powerful actors while targeting victims of state abuse.”
In a statement he issued on Wednesday, Sowore lamented against the NBA’s characterisation of his actions as a breach of courtroom etiquette, and described its statement as an assault on truth.
He wrote, in part: “I have read the statement issued by the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association, and I must say this is yet another sad day for democracy in Nigeria.
“While I understand that the NBA may feel compelled to defend one of its own, such defence must not be built on falsehoods.”
The incident to which the NBA reacted happened on Tuesday, March 24, when Sowore had a verbal clash with Musibau Adetunbi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, after he attempted to speak with journalists inside the courtroom.
The Senior Lawyer objected to Sowore’s alleged move, and insisted that the court was not an appropriate place for a media briefing.
However, Sowore said the NBA’s account of events is a lie and denied he organised a press conference inside the court.
According to him, he had visited the Federal High Court to obtain a Certified True Copy of a ruling striking out a cybercrime charge filed against him in January 2025. On arrival, he said he was told that the presiding judge, Justice M.S. Liman, had refused to sign the order citing a secret ex parte motion filed by the Nigeria Police Force.
He said: “We protested this irregularity and were asked to wait for the Judge to resume sitting. While waiting, media personnel attached to the Federal High Court approached me as they routinely do and requested comments. I obliged. This is standard practice.”
He clarified that the journalists were a regular part of the court environment who usually interacted freely with lawyers, litigants, and observers.
He gave the NBA a low mark, for according to him, the association’s “troubling pattern of selective engagement, questioning why the association had remained silent on far graver violations of courtroom sanctity involving state actors.
“The NBA’s selective outrage is troubling. Where was this energy when DSS operatives invaded a courtroom to abduct me before a sitting judge? Where was the defence of the sanctity of the court when state actors repeatedly violated court orders and trampled on the rights of citizens?”
Sowore, also, alleged that Adetunbi acted with impunity during the confrontation, issued threats, attempted to destroy equipment, and summoned the police, a conduct, he pointed out, the NBA shockingly failed to address.
He said: “The attempt by some lawyers, including Senior Advocate Musbau, to intimidate and harass us in court, issuing threats, attempting to destroy equipment, and even calling the police, only underscores the growing culture of impunity.”
The Judge, he said, finally, reaffirmed his decision and struck out the case and ordered the release of his international passport, which he said had been “unjustly seized.”
Sowore challenged the NBA to live up to its stated values by applying the same standard of scrutiny to powerful state actors as it did to their victims.
Sowore: “The NBA cannot claim to defend the rule of law while ignoring abuses by powerful state actors and amplifying misleading narratives against victims of those abuses.
“This is not just disappointing, it is dangerous. If the NBA truly seeks to protect the integrity of the legal profession and the courts, it must begin with honesty, consistency, and courage — not selective outrage. Indeed, this is another sad day for democracy in Nigeria.”
Discover more from The Source
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
