Human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has recounted how he narrowly escaped an alleged assassination attempt in Ekiti State, hiding in an elderly woman’s kitchen for about 45 minutes as armed men searched nearby houses for him.
Sowore said approximately 50 attackers, armed with cutlasses and axes, pursued him and threatened to kill anyone suspected of providing him shelter.
He narrated the experience on Sunday during a Global Emergency Zoom Meeting, explaining that the incident occurred shortly after he and members of his entourage stopped at a restaurant following a radio interview.
According to him, he had finished eating and stepped away to wash his hands when members of his team alerted him that gunshots had been heard outside.
Suspecting an attack, Sowore said he immediately fled with Pastor Sam and another associate, Larry, as the armed men closed in on them.
He said a security operative accompanying the team helped monitor the attackers’ movements, allowing them to identify opportunities to escape.
Sowore eventually found his way into a residential compound before moving into a neighbouring house, where he encountered an elderly woman cooking in her kitchen.
He said the woman immediately understood his predicament and allowed him to hide, quietly shutting the kitchen door without alerting other occupants.
Sowore described her action as extraordinary, saying she even went outside to look for the attackers while concealing his presence.
He remained in hiding for approximately 45 minutes as the armed men searched surrounding houses and threatened to kill anyone harbouring him.
The activist said he had lost his phone during the escape and relied on his smartwatch to contact people who could help him.
He eventually reached an individual identified as Philip Otoko, informing him that he was safe but surrounded by the attackers.
He also contacted another associate, identified as Dr JD, before eventually sharing his location with people coordinating efforts to get him out.
Sowore, however, disputed the police account that officers rescued him, insisting that he independently contacted people and transmitted his location before leaving the hiding place.
“Contrary to what the police is saying, that they rescued him, they didn’t rescue me. I was the one who sent them my location,” he said.
He explained that he first sought confirmation that police officers were on the street before emerging from the compound.
He subsequently met the officers, who conveyed him and other members of his entourage to a hospital.
Although acknowledging the police intervention after he emerged, Sowore maintained that his survival depended largely on his own efforts and the assistance of those he contacted.
He described the incident as an assassination attempt, saying he and his associates were fortunate to have escaped alive.
