Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has criticized Minister of Works Dave Umahi over his handling of a dispute involving a woman known as Tracy Nither Nicolas Ohiri, remarking on the minister’s age and credibility while restating his objections to how the matter was pursued by police. Sowore’s comments were made in a video posted by Symfoni, in which he reiterated his stance that state power should not be used to settle personal grievances.
Sowore referenced his own background to underscore perceived generational and moral differences between himself and Umahi, noting that he was a student union leader in 1992 and questioning whether Umahi had even completed his university education at that time.
According to him, “I was a student union leader in 1992. I’m not sure that Umahi will have finished university by then if you check his record. Somebody can Google it. When did he finish? That’s if he finished university at all. So why would I come and see you in your office? For what? You’re doing something wrong; let’s settle it here.”
Sowore went on to explain why he became involved in the controversy, emphasizing that his concern was about the inappropriate use of police resources in a personal dispute rather than about collecting a debt on behalf of Tracy. He argued that authorities appeared to prioritize the confrontation over genuine public security threats.
Watch the video from 3:28 to 3:50.