“Demolish Looters’ Mansions,” Sowore Demands After Oyo Action
Activist and African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has called on the federal government to extend the demolition tactics deployed against kidnappers’ hideouts to the mansions of politicians and public officials accused of stealing public funds.
In a statement on his X handle on Tuesday, Sowore argued that the looting of the public treasury amounts to a severe form of kidnapping that strips millions of citizens of essential services. He maintained that if the government holds that property linked to crime should be destroyed without delay, the principle ought to apply to every offender, regardless of status.
“There is no reason why the demolition of houses should be limited only to kidnappers,” he said. “If the government truly believes that property acquired through or used for criminal activity should be destroyed immediately, then the same principle must apply to politicians.”
The Sahara Reporters publisher added that “public officials, and other powerful individuals who steal public funds to build mansions and acquire vast assets should have their mansion demolished,” describing treasury looting as a crime that “kidnaps healthcare, education, jobs, infrastructure, and the future of millions of Nigerians.”
His remarks followed the Oyo State Government’s demolition of a building in Ibadan allegedly used as a hideout by the gang that abducted Mrs Olaide Busayo Adegoke John-Paul, younger sister of former Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu, along with her 12-year-old twin sons. The victims were abducted on June 3 along Elewura, Ring Road, Ibadan, while Mrs John-Paul was taking her sons to school.
The three-bedroom structure in the Lakoun area along the Ayegun-Olojuoro Road was flattened following a security assessment of the site led by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Oluwagbemiga Abimbola. The state government described the action as part of its zero-tolerance stance against criminality, pulling the building down less than 48 hours after the victims regained freedom.
The rescue operation carried significant weight. Two members of the kidnapping syndicate were shot dead during the operation on Saturday, after which four arrested suspects were paraded on Sunday at the State Police Headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan. Authorities said any property found to have been used for criminal purposes would face similar action.
Sowore, a long-standing critic of official corruption in Nigeria, has previously drawn public attention to assets allegedly linked to serving officials. His latest intervention places renewed focus on the contrast between swift state action against low-level criminal hideouts and the slower pace of asset recovery in high-profile corruption cases.