Activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has fired back at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), accusing the body of “selective outrage” and falsehood after it criticised his conduct during a recent appearance at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In a counter-statement issued on Wednesday, Sowore rejected the NBA’s characterization of his actions as a breach of courtroom etiquette, describing the association’s rebuke as an “assault on truth” from an institution that claims to uphold fairness and the rule of law.
The confrontation that triggered the NBA’s reaction occurred on Tuesday, when Sowore clashed with Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Musibau Adetunbi after Sowore was approached by journalists inside the courtroom. Adetunbi had objected, insisting the court was not an appropriate venue for a media briefing.
Sowore, however, flatly denied organising a press conference. He explained that his presence at the court was to obtain a Certified True Copy of a ruling striking out a cybercrime charge filed against him in January 2025. He alleged that he was told 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,” Sowore said, adding that the journalists were regular fixtures of the court environment who interacted freely with lawyers and litigants.
In his rebuttal, Sowore sharply criticised the NBA for what he described as a troubling pattern of selective engagement. He questioned 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.
Sowore also alleged that the 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 apply 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.
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