The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore, has claimed that Nigeria never became a democratic nation.
Sowore made this claim on Wednesday during he appeared as a guest in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’.
Meanwhile, this comes shortly after Sowore’s release from the Kuje correctional facility following his N200 million bail at a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja over alleged defamation of President Bola Tinubu.
“Nigeria had a transition to civil rule, but never became a democratic nation. We don’t have the basic tenets of democracy.
“Because the military left and abandoned us with a constitution we didn’t know how it was written doesn’t mean we have democratic rule.
“Limitations to freedom of expression should be regulated according to the law and not by those in power.
“If the law says you can speak truth to power, nobody should have the right to prevent you from expressing yourself. They are interested only in punishing me without conviction.”
Sowore Sent to Kuje Prison
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday ordered the remand of Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), in Kuje Correctional Centre.
The presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar issued the order following the revocation of Sowore’s bail last week.
Justice Umar adjourned the proceedings until June 24 to hear the formal application, ordering that the defendant remain in custody until Wednesday.
Compounding the defendant’s legal peril, the court immediately issued a bench warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear for the continuation of his trial—a critical session during which he was legally required to open his defense.
Read Also: Tinubu defamation case: Court grants Omoyele Sowore N200m bail
Backstory
Sowore has long been one of Nigeria’s most outspoken critics of the country’s democratic system, arguing that civilian rule has merely replaced military governance without delivering genuine democratic values.
He launched a direct challenge against the very credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process, arguing that systemic corruption, rampant political interference, and fragile governance have systematically crippled the nation’s democratic institutions. His latest remarks that Nigeria “never became democratic” are consistent with years of criticism over electoral integrity, civil liberties, government accountability and the shrinking space for political dissent.
