‘He Called President Dead Meat’ – Sowore Attacks Tinubu

The African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Omoyele Sowore, has said Nigerians should not be arrested or prosecuted for criticising President Bola Tinubu or calling him names.

Naija News reports that Sowore stated this on Monday during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time, where he argued that freedom of expression was a fundamental right guaranteed under a democratic system.

The AAC candidate said expressing criticism against the President, including using unflattering descriptions, should not be treated as a criminal offence.

“Criticising or calling President Tinubu names does not constitute an offence,” Sowore said.

He argued that any intelligence officer who ordered the arrest of a citizen merely for criticising the President would be acting contrary to the principles of democracy.

“If I were to be President and I heard someone had been arrested for criticising or calling me names, I would fire the intelligence officer because it means that the intelligence officer is not intelligent,” he said.

Sowore also said Tinubu had previously indicated that he did not want Nigerians arrested or prosecuted for insulting him.

“In fact, to be fair to Tinubu, and I want to say this for the first time, he has said it several times that he doesn’t want anybody arrested or prosecuted for calling him any name,” he said.

The AAC candidate attributed the President’s position to his own history of making strong political statements about opponents and public figures.

“He knew why he said that. He used to do name-calling too. He’s called President dead meat. He’s called people all kinds of names,” Sowore said.

He maintained that democratic governance required tolerance of opposing views and allowed citizens to express their opinions about those in power.

“He knows that under a democratic system of government, you are not supposed to go after people because they are speaking their minds,” he added.