Sowore made the comments in a post on X, where he questioned the continued tenure of the police chief and referenced what he described as declining morale within the force.
Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has criticised Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, raising concerns about police leadership and the handling of reported security incidents.
Sowore made the comments in a post on X, where he questioned the continued tenure of the police chief and referenced what he described as declining morale within the force.
His comments followed the police’s reversal on the Kaduna church abductions, after initially denying the attacks.
“When will this retired, tired, incompetent, corrupt, and illegal Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, finally be shown the way out of the Police Headquarters?” Sowore wrote.
He also commented on the state of officers’ morale, saying, “Morale within the force has collapsed under his watch. He has reduced institution to a trivialized caricature, trivializing the Nigeria Police Force and running it completely into the ground.”
Sowore further linked his concerns to public confidence and the professional conduct of officers, stating, “The damage is evident not only in the growing loss of public trust but also in the deep frustration of officers who see the little ‘professionalism’ left replaced by decay, illegality, and impunity at the very top.”
Referring to the Kaduna church abductions, Sowore questioned the police’s response to reported attacks, asking, “How could the Nigeria Police Force deny the obvious church abductions on Kajuru in Kaduna for close to one week?”
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the Kaduna State Government and the state police command earlier denied the reported kidnapping of Christian worshippers in Kajuru Local Government Area.
SaharaReporters had previously reported that in a daring attack on Sunday, a gang of bandits struck multiple churches in the Kurmin Wali area of Kajuru Local Government, Kaduna State, abducting over 100 worshippers during ongoing services.
The Chairman of 19 Northern States chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. John Hayab, subsequently confirmed the abduction, adding that 172 worshippers were abducted of which some returned leaving 163 worshippers in captivity.
Shortly after the report, the Kaduna State government countered the claims by the CAN, adding that no Christian worshippers were kidnapped during Sunday services in three churches in the Kajuru local government area.
The state police command also denied it.
Briefing journalists shortly after a security meeting, the government debunked the claims through the duo of the Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Muhammad Rabiu and the Chairman of Kajuru local government, Dauda Madaki.
The CP, Rabiu described the reported kidnapping of over 100 worshippers at Kajuru, as mere falsehood being peddled by conflict entrepreneurs to cause chaos in the state.
However, the Nigeria Police Force later confirmed that an abduction incident indeed occurred at Kurmin Wali, a remote community in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
This followed what it described as thorough verification and intelligence assessments, effectively reversing earlier public uncertainty surrounding the incident.
The Force noted subsequent verification from operational units on ground and credible intelligence sources confirmed that the abduction did take place at Kurmin Wali.
Sources who spoke exclusively to SaharaReporters on Wednesday said the decision to deny the incident came after confirmation from the Northern leadership of CAN and was intended to “downplay publicity” surrounding the abduction of worshippers during Sunday services.