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Human rights activist and Presidential Candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has alleged that operatives of the Nigeria Police Force used a chemical substance on him during the June 12 Democracy Day protest in Abuja, causing him to lose consciousness.
Speaking to News Central on Friday shortly after the incident, Sowore said the alleged exposure occurred as protesters approached the Presidential Villa.
“The Nigeria Police Force, upon arriving close to the Presidential Villa, which was one of our destinations, pumped an unknown chemical substance through my nostril and I collapsed.”
He added that the experience was the last thing he could recall before regaining consciousness.
“That’s the last I saw of myself. And I was revived by our colleagues and we decided that the struggle cannot be stopped even by chemical attacks,” he said.
Credit: Cable.
Sowore also criticised the state of civil liberties in the country, linking the incident to broader concerns about democratic freedoms.
“It’s a shame that in 2026 Nigeria has got democracy on Democracy Day. People cannot even express themselves freely,” he said.
Meanwhile, many Nigerians took to the streets on Friday, June 12, to mark Democracy Day, observed annually to commemorate the annulled 1993 presidential election, widely regarded as one of the freest and fairest in Nigeria’s history.
In recent years, the day has also become a platform for protests by civil society groups and activists demanding improved governance, accountability, and expanded civic freedoms.
Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters and a presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, is a well-known critic of successive Nigerian administrations, including the current government of President Bola Tinubu.
He has consistently led and participated in protests on issues such as police reform, economic hardship, and governance accountability, often attracting a heightened security presence.
“The Nigeria police force, upon arriving close to the presidential villa pumped an unknown chemical substance through my nostril and I collapsed.”
Omoyele Sowore says the Nigerian police used a chemical agent on him, causing him to collapse before colleagues revived him. https://t.co/14b3OkGdBl pic.twitter.com/T1f91k79LS
— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) June 12, 2026
