Human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, on Monday confronted a lawyer at the Federal High Court in Abuja after the legal practitioner allegedly referred to him as a “tout.”
The confrontation, captured in a video circulating on social media, occurred ahead of proceedings in the ongoing cyberbullying trial of Sowore over his description of President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” in a social media post.
In the video, Sowore was seen demanding that the lawyer, identified as Yakubu, withdraw the alleged remark, questioning why he had been insulted in a courtroom.
“Why did you call me a tout? What have I done to you? You have to withdraw that insult. How can you say I am a tout? For what? For exercising my rights?” Sowore said.
The activist, who appeared visibly angry, accused the lawyer of acting inappropriately in a court environment, insisting that his disagreement with the government did not justify the alleged insult.
“You have no right to insult me. I don’t have any problem with you,” he said.
Sowore also described the lawyer as an “idiot” for allegedly insulting him in court, arguing that a legal practitioner should understand the importance of appropriate conduct in such an environment.
Some of Sowore’s supporters were also seen in the video condemning the lawyer over the alleged remark.
The incident occurred as Sowore was expected to attend proceedings in his ongoing trial over allegations of cyberbullying Tinubu by describing the Nigerian president as a “criminal” on his official social media handle.
Details of the circumstances that led to the alleged exchange between Sowore and the lawyer were not immediately clear.
