LIB Exclusive: ‘What Sowore posted on social media today is completely false’ – Lagos Police Commissioner, Fatai Owoseni

Yesterday, news got out that Sahara Reporters Publisher Omoyele Sowore was arrested after a UK-based journalist, Lekan Fatodu, petitioned the state police over a report Sowore wrote alleging that he was used to launder money by former Aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode.Both Sowore and Fatodu were subsequently taken to SCID in Panti and released afterwards. This morning however, Sowore took to Facebook to say the Lagos state police plans to arraign him in court on phony charges (Read Here).

LIB had an exclusive chat with the State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni who narrated the events leading up to the arrest and described Sowore’s claims as ‘Completely False’.

In his words, ‘That fellow, Sowore was the one that made a distress call to the police yesterday that he was being attacked by armed robbers at Isaac John, Ikeja and Police in Lagos in its usual manner responded immediately to the distress call only for the officers to get there and find out that it was a false distress call which in the first instance shouldn’t have been made by someone who should know better. We found out that there was no armed robbery going on, rather it was a case of altercation between himself and Lekan Fatodu’.

‘The officers that went there who thought it was a genuine distress call brought the two of them to my office and the preliminary enquiry that was made after I had interrogated them was that Lekan Fatodu had earlier lodged a complaint of criminal defamation of character, blackmail and extortion against Sowore which had earlier been referred to the state criminal investigation department and thereafter asked both of them to taken to the investigating office at Panti where they would make their statement with regards to the pending case against Sowore’.

‘Upon their statement being recorded yesterday, none of them especially Sowore was detained by the police, the two parties were only asked to report back today.

‘We are doing our work in a responsible manner, allegations have been made and it is the work of the police to investigate criminal complaints. That Investigation is on-going and I want to assure you that the police in Lagos will be fair and just, and we’ll make sure that professionalism is exhibited in the course of investigating that case and ensure that justice is done and I want to appeal to you that in as much as you may want to sympathize with your colleague on social media, you should also try as much as possible to be in touch with us so that we can keep you abreast of developments in that case rather than speculating and writing insinuations in reporting that incident while we expect Sowore as well to ensure that whatever he posts on social media is done responsibly’.

‘He has made some assertions in what he’s posted on social media today which are completely false and that is why we always emphasize responsible reportage and dissemination of information’.

so we are using this medium to reach out to him that while he has the opportunity to use the social media, he should not use it irresponsibly to blackmail anyone and being a member of the media does not stop him from being called in to account for any criminal act he may have committed’.

Written By Adedayo Showemimo