Human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has sparked controversy with his scathing remarks following the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari, rejecting calls to mourn the late leader whom he described as a “tyrant.”
In a strongly-worded statement, Sowore catalogued what he termed as Buhari’s “atrocities” during his tenure as Nigeria’s leader.
“Muhammadu Buhari @MBuhari slaughtered hundreds of Shiites, men, women, and even children,” Sowore wrote, referencing the December 2015 Zaria clashes between the Nigerian Army and members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria.
The activist also recalled the October 2020 Lekki Toll Gate incident, alleging that “He ordered soldiers of the @HQNigerianArmy to open fire on peaceful #EndSARS protesters waving the Nigerian flag.”
Sowore further accused the late president of enforced disappearances, stating “He ‘disappeared’ Dadiyata,” referencing the 2019 abduction of social media commentator Abubakar Idris, known as Dadiyata.
The former AAC presidential candidate also touched on the security situation in the Southeast, claiming “He ordered the massacre of young Southeasterners he branded IPOB,” referring to operations against the Indigenous People of Biafra.
On governance, Sowore alleged that Buhari “disobeyed court orders, jailed critics arbitrarily, destroyed the economy, and ruined everything he touched.”
The activist reserved his harshest criticism for those calling for national mourning, asking: “And now, because he’s dead, some people with selective memory want us to mourn or worship him? Shameful.”
Concluding his statement, Sowore declared: “NO, we do not mourn tyrants. We remember their victims.”
The comments have generated mixed reactions across social media platforms, with some supporting Sowore’s position while others argue it violates traditional African respect for the dead.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga had earlier announced a week of national mourning for the former leader, with flags flying at half-mast nationwide. Buhari, who served as military head of state (1983-1985) and democratically-elected president (2015-2023), passed away Sunday in London at age 81 after a prolonged illness.
