The Lagos State Police Command has arrested Omoyele Sowore, founder of New York, United States-based online medium, SaharaReporters, over a petition by a magazine publisher, Lekan Fatodu.
Sowore was reportedly arrested on Wednesday after he was confronted by Fatodu on Isaac John Street, Ikeja.
The PUNCH learnt that he was first taken to the police command headquarters before the case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba.
The drama surrounding Sowore’s arrest started when Fatodu took to his Twitter handle on Wednesday and announced, “Breaking! I just got Sowore Omoyele of SaharaReporters arrested for criminal defamation and blackmail and threat to my life and career.”
Around 6pm, Sowore himself confirmed the incident in a video he posted on his Facebook wall where he accused the police of supporting Fatodu while he assaulted him at the Area F Police Command.
A post that followed the video about one hour later, read, “After the police ‘intervened’ (as) soon as I was attacked by Lekan Fatodu and his friends in Lagos, we were taken to the Commissioner of Police’s office in Lagos.
“Turns out he was in on this; he pulled out a supposed petition written by Lekan from his hat; after that, he became very hostile towards me and ordered that we be driven to the State CID, Panti.
“It is very obvious that this was planned between Lekan Fatodu and the police. They offered him unbridled support as he continued attacking me in the presence of the police….”
But the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, told our correspondent the police had received a distress call of a robbery attack on Isaac John.
She added that the police later discovered it was an altercation between the two men.
She said, “They were invited and brought before the Commissioner of Police. It was discovered that the brawl was as a result of a petition written by Fatodu, and the petition had been referred for investigation at the SCIID, Yaba.
“Lekan Fatodu said there was a time Sowore approached him that he (Fatodu) should pay him if he did not want a story he had about him published. He said Sowore demanded N200m to kill the story. Fatodu said he told Sowore he didn’t have the money. Sowore eventually published the story.
“Since then, Fatodu said he had been receiving calls from some people, saying his life was in danger. That was why he did the petition on threat to life, defamation of character and blackmail. The two of them have been sent to the SCIID, Yaba, where the case is being investigated.”
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