Court Orders Banks to Release Sowore’s Financial Records to Police
The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted an application by the Inspector‑General of Police (IGP) compelling six financial institutions to release bank transaction records of activist and publisher Omoyele Sowore, covering the period from January 2024 to date.
Justice Emeka Nwite issued the order in respect of a motion ex parte filed by the IGP’s counsel, Wisdom Madaki. The application sought judicial authority for the police to access detailed financial information from specified banks and fintech platforms.
In the motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1757/2025, the IGP alleged that Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, is under investigation for offences bordering on terrorism financing, money laundering, and other fraudulent activities. Sowore and Sahara Reporters Media Foundation were named as the 1st and 2nd defendants.
The IGP also joined six financial institutions as the 3rd to 8th defendants. He prayed the court for an order directing them to provide the police with account opening packages, mandate cards, and certified statements showing all inflows and outflows with corresponding account numbers from January 2024 to the present date.
Madaki argued that the relief sought was critical to the ongoing investigation, stressing that the accounts in question were allegedly used for terrorism financing and laundering illicit funds. He warned that refusal to grant the order could compromise investigative efforts.
In a supporting affidavit, Bassey Ibrahim of the Legal Section, Force Criminal Investigation Department, averred that intelligence reports indicated Sowore was using the accounts to receive foreign financial support for terrorism‑related purposes. He deposed that granting the order would not prejudice the respondents.
The affidavit further stated that approximately 26 accounts linked to Sowore including those operated by Sahara Reporters Media Foundation and the African Action Congress (AAC) were within the scope of the investigation.
In his ruling, Justice Nwite held that the IGP had placed sufficient material before the court to warrant the orders sought. After reviewing the motion and affidavit evidence, he concluded that the application was meritorious and accordingly granted it in full.
The development comes months after Sowore was admitted to ₦10 million bail in a separate cybercrime case instituted by the IGP. Sowore, a former presidential candidate and vocal critic of successive governments has previously faced high‑profile prosecutions, including a 2019 treasonable felony case alongside Olawale Bakare, which was later discontinued by the Attorney‑General of the Federation.
The earlier treasonable felony proceedings, filed under FHC/ABJ/CR/235/2019, had alleged an attempt to incite a revolution against then‑President Muhammadu Buhari. While both defendants pleaded not guilty, the matter lingered for years with restrictive bail conditions, until its eventual striking‑out by the court in early 2024 following the AGF’s withdrawal of charges.
