In a scathing statement released on Friday, February 27, 2026, Mr. Tope Temokun, counsel to veteran human rights activist and SaharaReporters publisher Omoyele Sowore, accused former Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun of misusing public police funds to hire Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to prosecute cases against Sowore — a move he described as a “misapplication of taxpayer resources for personal vendettas.”
Temokun, speaking during a press briefing in Abuja, asserted that the alleged deployment of force funds to retain private senior lawyers in cases involving Sowore reflects an inappropriate blend of state power with personal grievances. He emphasised that public funds should not be used to pursue litigation that appears retaliatory in nature, particularly where the state’s principal prosecuting authority — the Attorney-General of the Federation — already has constitutional responsibility for criminal prosecutions.
The accusations come amid a series of legal battles between Sowore and the Nigeria Police Force that escalated during Egbetokun’s tenure. One of the most prominent of these cases involves allegations of forging and circulating a police wireless message — a charge that the police brought against Sowore and his media platform last year. Temokun criticised the conduct of the Attorney-General’s office for outsourcing the prosecution to private counsel while the Nigeria Police Force would foot the bill, effectively using public money to compensate private law firms in what he termed a dangerous precedent.
“The memo disclosed in open court showed that the Police will bear the cost for private lawyers hired to prosecute Mr. Sowore,” Temokun told reporters. He said this raised profound constitutional questions, noting that criminal prosecution should be carried out in the public interest and not as a proxy for personal complaint or institutional grievance.
Temokun urged the incoming police leadership under the current Acting Inspector-General Tunji Disu to review and, where necessary, withdraw politically charged charges against Sowore and SaharaReporters. He stressed that prosecutions should align with the rule of law and not be leveraged as mechanisms of intimidation against government critics.
The defence lawyer also highlighted broader concerns over Nigeria’s criminal justice system, warning that unchecked outsourcing of prosecutions to private firms funded by public resources could corrode public confidence in impartial justice. He called on the Attorney-General’s office to establish clearer prosecutorial guidelines to prevent criminal proceedings from being perceived as extensions of administrative power rather than instruments of justice.
The court has adjourned the associated forgery case until May 28, 2026, as the legal tussle continues, with Sowore’s defence team seeking a thorough review of the manner in which charges were instituted and prosecuted.