Your selective outrage is troubling  —  Sowore fires back at NBA

2026-03-25 - 11:53

Activist and 2023 African Action Congress presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has reacted to the Nigerian Bar Association following the body’s criticism of his conduct at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The activist accused the association of selective outrage, falsehood, and shielding powerful actors while targeting victims of state abuse. In a counter-statement issued on Wednesday, Sowore pushed back against the NBA’s characterisation of his actions as a breach of courtroom etiquette, describing the association’s statement as an assault on truth from an institution that claims to uphold fairness and the rule of law. “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,” he said. The confrontation that triggered the NBA’s reaction occurred on Tuesday, when Sowore clashed with Senior Advocate of Nigeria Musibau Adetunbi after attempting to speak with journalists inside the courtroom. Adetunbi had objected, insisting the court was not an appropriate venue for a media briefing. Sowore rejected the NBA’s account of events, flatly denying that he had organised a press conference inside the court. He explained that 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, only to be told that the presiding judge, Justice M.S. Liman, had declined to sign the order following a secret ex parte motion filed by the Nigeria Police Force. “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 said, adding that the journalists in question were a regular part of the court environment who interacted freely with lawyers, litigants, and observers. Sowore criticised the NBA for what he described as the body’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?” he asked. He also alleged that Senior Advocate Adetunbi had acted with impunity during the confrontation, issuing threats, attempting to destroy equipment, and summoning the police — conduct he said the NBA conspicuously failed to address. “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,” Sowore stated. He noted that the judge ultimately reaffirmed his decision striking out the case and ordered the release of his international passport, which he said had been unjustly seized. Concluding his rebuttal, 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. “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,” he said.