Retired police officers on Wednesday stormed the court premises in solidarity with human rights activist and SaharaReporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, vowing to “die for his cause” as they accused the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, of unfairly targeting him while turning a blind eye to corruption and criminality in government.
Speaking on behalf of the group, retired Superintendent of Police Rukeze Oregbo stated that Sowore had been at the forefront of protests demanding pension payments for retired officers and improved welfare for serving personnel.
He condemned the charges filed against Sowore, arguing that police authorities had ignored “criminals and armed robbers within government” while persecuting someone fighting for justice and workers’ rights.
The retired officers demanded the creation of a Police Pension Board to end, as they described, years of neglect and exploitation.
Oregbo said, "We are here to support the real Nigerian. Sowore is the real Nigerian. If you are fighting for a course, and you are not ready to die for a course, definitely you are not serious.
"Let the message go to the Inspector General of Police that we will not leave him alone. We are strongly behind him.
"Filing a suit against this man when there are a lot of armed robbers and criminals within themselves and none of them is charged to court. Rather than that, they give vacation to go abroad.”
"We are here to die; the retired police officers, we are here. They have been sending agencies, DG, they have been going all around in the name of how they can compromise. We have already said no, what we need is that the police must get out of CPS (Contributory Pension Scheme). No going back,” he said.
"You can't work for 35 years and they will pay you N1 million naira,” he lamented.
For instance, Oregbo, who hails from Rivers State, stated that he received a N1 million pension.
"Can it take my family and I to my village?” he asked.
“Even if they will kill him, all of us will die together with him, that's my message to the federal government," Oregbo added.
Earlier, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately order Egbetokun to drop the bogus charges against Sowore, end the arbitrary prosecution of the activist, and the investigation of Sahara Reporters media outlet.
The group, which made the call in a statement issued on Wednesday, said Sowore had already suffered a terrible miscarriage of justice just because of the peaceful exercise of his human rights.
SERAP warned that the Nigerian government must not subject Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) and convener of #RevolutionNow Movement, to another bogus prosecution and unfair trial.
The group warned that continuing the case against Sowore would further undermine human rights in the country.
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