Human rights activist and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has criticised the growing disunity in Nigeria, saying the country cannot claim to be united while some citizens are treated as second-class.
Gatekeepers Newsreports that speaking in Akure, the Ondo State capital, during the 2025 end-of-year celebration of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Ondo State chapter, Sowore called on Nigerian leaders to promote justice, fairness, and equality as the foundation for genuine national unity.
“We cannot have unity without justice. We cannot say we need unity when some people are treated as superior and others as inferior,” Sowore said.
“We cannot have unity in a country where someone’s business is demolished simply because the government dislikes their ethnicity.”
He condemned what he described as “systemic hypocrisy” in Nigeria’s treatment of its ethnic groups and accused the government of applying double standards in dealing with citizens.
“We cannot have unity in a country where terrorists are treated better than freedom fighters. I am talking directly about Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and others who struggle for the freedom of their people,” he said.
“There is no crime in demanding justice or self-determination. Nigeria was not created by Nigerians but by the British. So, if we must continue as one nation, we must respect everyone who calls himself a Nigerian.”
A vocal advocate for Kanu’s release, Sowore faulted the Federal Government for detaining the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader for over five years without clearly defining his alleged crimes.
He also accused Nigeria’s political class of ignoring the cries of the masses until pressured by foreign powers, warning that relying on external intervention would only worsen the country’s problems.
“Our leaders must stop inviting foreign countries to fix our problems. It will only make things worse,” he cautioned.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Command has declared Sowore wanted for allegedly attempting to instigate public unrest and obstruct major roads in the state.
Commissioner of Police Olohundare Jimoh announced the development on Monday while addressing journalists at the Iyana-Oworo section of the Third Mainland Bridge.
Sowore, however, dismissed the police’s claims, saying the declaration was an attempt to silence him.
Reacting on his social media page, he said the commissioner had ignored his repeated attempts to reach him.
“The CP has refused to take my calls. This is just another effort to distort facts about what happened in Oworonsoki,” Sowore wrote.
