African Action Congress presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has made public a newly recovered video purportedly showing individuals suspected of participating in the attack on him and members of his entourage during the Ikogosi Marathon in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
He also accused the police of compromising potential evidence by allegedly removing surveillance equipment from the scene and allowing the CCTV recordings to be erased.
In a statement issued on November 2, 2026, Sowore described the emergence of the footage as an important breakthrough in efforts to uncover those behind the October 30 assault, which reportedly took place at Tawakalitu Restaurant in Ado-Ekiti.
He maintained that the video captured the faces of suspected participants and could provide investigators with valuable information to establish their identities.
However, while welcoming the recovery of the footage, the AAC candidate expressed concern over the alleged disappearance of the restaurant’s original CCTV recordings. He claimed that the surveillance equipment was taken away by police officers and that the recordings were subsequently erased, raising questions about how evidence connected to the incident was handled.
Sowore disclosed that he had reached out to the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, the Divisional Police Officer of Ado-Ekiti Central Police Station, Mustapha Mohammed, and the commander of the Rapid Response Squad on November 1, seeking clarification on the progress of the investigation. According to him, the discussions produced an unexpected response, with the officers reportedly maintaining that there was “no complainant” because he had yet to submit a formal written statement.
He questioned the explanation, arguing that the circumstances surrounding the incident should have been sufficient to warrant a comprehensive investigation, particularly given the alleged involvement of police personnel in rescuing the victims, transporting them to a hospital, apprehending suspects and recovering weapons, stolen mobile phones and other electronic devices.
The former presidential candidate expressed dissatisfaction with what he considered an apparent lack of progress in the investigation, despite the reported police response immediately after the attack. He also alleged that electronic tracking had linked some of the stolen mobile phones to the Ekiti State Governor’s Lodge, an allegation that he said required urgent clarification from the relevant authorities.
Sowore further claimed that attempts to obtain explanations from the officers regarding the whereabouts of the recovered phones and the CCTV equipment removed from Tawakalitu Restaurant were unsuccessful. He alleged that the officers denied having knowledge of the matters and subsequently terminated their telephone conversations.
The statement also revealed that the restaurant’s management later confirmed that the CCTV equipment had been returned to the premises by a Divisional Police Officer. However, the management reportedly discovered that the recordings stored on the system had been erased. Sowore added that the restaurant operators declined to identify the officer who allegedly brought back the equipment.
The development, he argued, raised troubling questions about the custody of evidence and the circumstances under which the surveillance recordings disappeared. He questioned the authority behind the removal of the equipment, the identity of those responsible for erasing the footage and the reasons police officials were allegedly distancing themselves from evidence connected to the incident.
“Who ordered the removal of the CCTV equipment? Who erased the recordings? Why are senior police officers denying knowledge of critical evidence? And why are investigators claiming there is no complainant in a violent crime witnessed and investigated by the police themselves?” he asked.
He warned that the alleged disappearance of the CCTV recordings, alongside the reported difficulties in obtaining information from police authorities, could point to possible evidence tampering, obstruction of justice and efforts to protect individuals implicated in the assault.
Consequently, Sowore called for the immediate constitution of an independent investigative panel to investigate both the attack and the alleged destruction of surveillance evidence. He maintained that an investigation conducted independently of the officers whose actions had been questioned was necessary to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Among his demands were a comprehensive forensic examination of the recovered CCTV equipment, an investigation into its removal and subsequent return, and the identification of every police officer who had access to or handled the surveillance system. He also urged authorities to ensure that anyone implicated in the assault or the alleged deliberate destruction of evidence was arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law.
The AAC presidential candidate further insisted that the newly recovered video should undergo an independent assessment to establish its authenticity and determine the identities of individuals captured in the footage. He called for anyone identified through the recording to be subjected to appropriate investigation.
“The perpetrators must not be allowed to escape accountability through the destruction of evidence or manipulation of police investigations,” he said.
The alleged assault took place on October 30, when Sowore and members of his entourage were in Ekiti State to participate in the Ikogosi Marathon. The incident reportedly occurred at Tawakalitu Restaurant in Ado-Ekiti, where the group was allegedly attacked.
Sowore maintained that the circumstances surrounding the incident, particularly the alleged disappearance of the CCTV recordings and questions over the handling of recovered property, made an independent investigation imperative. He reiterated that forensic scrutiny of the surveillance equipment and a thorough examination of the newly recovered video were essential to uncovering the truth and ensuring that those responsible were held accountable.
