Towolawi Jamiu #EndSarsNow

PRESS STATEMENT YOU CANNOT BEAT, BLEED AND THEN GASLIGHT THE VICTIMS! WE REJECT EKITI POLICE NARRATIVE, DEMAND REMOVAL OF THE CP AND JUSTICE FOR SOWORE; ALL PERPETRATORS MUST BE IDENTIFIED AND BROUGHT TO BOOK IMMEDIATELY! October 30, 2026 The Take It Back Movement @TIBmovement unequivocally condemns the brutal attack on the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress @aacparty , Omoyele Sowore @sowore , the National Chairman, Pastor Samuel Ajeigbe and other members of our movement in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State. We are outraged not only by the violence inflicted on our members but also by the disgraceful attempt by the Ekiti State Police @PoliceNG Command to minimise the gravity of the incident through an official statement that insults the intelligence of Nigerians and compounds the trauma of the victims. Let us be absolutely clear: SOWORE AND HIS ENTOURAGE WERE ATTACKED. THERE WAS NO ALTERCATION! The injuries sustained by Sowore, as evident in the images and accounts emerging from the incident, are deeply disturbing. The severity of the injuries makes the Police Command's description of the incident as a mere "altercation" and the injuries as "minor" particularly outrageous. What exactly does the Police Command take Nigerians for? Must victims of violence be reduced to statistics and their injuries downplayed before the Police can acknowledge the seriousness of an attack? Is the official responsibility of the Police now to manage public perception on behalf of those suspected of perpetrating violence rather than investigate and bring offenders to justice? The Police Command must understand that its responsibility is to protect citizens, investigate crimes and apprehend perpetrators, not to trivialise violence or manufacture convenient narratives. A press release cannot erase injuries. Official titles cannot whitewash violence. And the authority of the Police cannot be used to intimidate victims into silence. We are particularly concerned by the public account given by Sowore, who stated that the Commissioner of Police, CP Falade Adegoroye Michael, personally visited the scene and witnessed the aftermath of the attack, including the injuries sustained. Yet, the same Police Command subsequently issued a statement reducing the incident to an altercation. Furthermore, the allegations raised concerning complicity, misconduct involving security personnel must not be swept aside. They must be independently and thoroughly investigated. Nobody, including the Commissioner of Police or any other public official, should be above scrutiny or accountability. We also condemn the failure of the Ekiti State Government, under Governor Biodun Oyebanji, to ensure an environment where citizens and political actors can exercise their constitutional freedoms without fear of violence. The Governor must publicly address this incident and demonstrate that the protection of lives and fundamental rights in Ekiti State is not conditional on political affiliation. The All Progressives Congress @OfficialAPCNg (APC), as the ruling party in the state, must equally be reminded that political power does not confer ownership of public spaces or the right to intimidate, assault or silence political opponents. No political party has the licence to turn Nigeria into a territory where dissent attracts violence and opposition voices are treated as enemies. Nigeria is not a one-party state. Ekiti State is not the private property of the APC. And no amount of political intimidation will extinguish the constitutional right of Nigerians to organise, protest, campaign and demand accountability from those in power. If anyone believes that attacking Omoyele Sowore or members of the Take It Back Movement will weaken our resolve, they have fundamentally misunderstood the character of this struggle. We will not retreat. We will not surrender our rights. We will not be intimidated into silence.