Political activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has responded to the capture and arrest of Human Rights lawyer Dele Farotimi.

Farotimi was arrested by officers of the Zone 2 Command in Lagos following an alleged defamatory comment he made against a complainant in a public forum.

The lawyer had previously spoken out about several attempts to arrest him and threats to his life, accusing Nigerian elites of collaborating with security agencies and legal practitioners to intimidate him on his social media pages.

In a message on his social media pages, Farotimi indicated that he had received an invitation from the police after a petition was filed by Tony Elumelu, the Group Chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA).


Reacting to the recent arrest, Sowore accused the police of playing to the tune of influential Nigerians who wield their power to the detriment of the ordinary man.

"I just learned that @DeleFarotimi was arrested by @PoliceNG over a petition by
@TonyOElumelu of @UBAGroup alleging Dele defamed him. It is pertinent that the Nigerian police are notified that the institution cannot continue to be used to settle personal scores, and we, the citizens of Nigeria, would no longer tolerate such a situation. Therefore, the @PoliceNG at Zone 2 in Lagos are advised to release Barrister @DeleFarotimi immediately," he wrote in his post on X.