Ekiti Governor’s CSO Warned Sowore’s Safety Not Guaranteed Hours Before Attack — Activist Olowoyo

An #EndSARS activist, Moyinoluwa Olowoyo, has alleged that the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji, CSP Ayodele Akinlua, warned him hours before Friday’s attack on African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore and members of his entourage that Sowore’s safety could not be guaranteed if he held a political rally in the state.

Olowoyo, popularly known as Gigabytes, said he received the telephone call at about 7:30 a.m. on October 30, 2026, several hours before suspected political thugs attacked Sowore and his team at Tawakalitu Restaurant in Ado-Ekiti.

Recounting the conversation, the activist said Akinlua asked whether Sowore planned to hold a political rally in Ekiti State, but he told the security official that no rally had been planned.

“Before I joined Sowore and other comrades yesterday, I got a phone call from the Chief Security Officer to Governor Biodun Oyebanji around 7:30 a.m. He asked me if it was true that Omoyele Sowore wanted to have a rally in Ekiti State. I responded no, that nothing of such was planned,” Olowoyo said.

According to him, Akinlua insisted that the Commissioner of Police and other security formations must be informed before any political rally could take place in the state.

He alleged that the CSO also said Sowore had not notified security agencies of his arrival and warned that his safety could not be guaranteed if a rally went ahead.

“The CSO said for any rally to happen in this state, the Commissioner of Police must be aware, alongside every other security formation. He said Sowore had not informed any security agency in the state of his arrival and that if any rally should happen, his safety could not be guaranteed,” he stated.

Olowoyo said he again assured Akinlua that Sowore’s team had no plans to organise a rally or any related political gathering before the call ended.

He subsequently questioned why the group was attacked despite the absence of any planned rally or public mobilisation.

“So why did those thugs still come to attack us? We didn’t hold any rally. We didn’t mobilize anyone to the place where they attacked us. We didn’t rent the place, and we didn’t tell anyone to meet us there,” he said.

Narrating how the incident occurred, Olowoyo said Sowore and his entourage had left Midas Radio in Ado-Ekiti and stopped at Tawakalitu Restaurant, behind Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, to eat.

He alleged that they had spent less than five minutes at the restaurant when suspected political thugs stormed the premises.

“After Sowore and his entourage left Midas Radio, they branched at Tawakalitu Restaurant behind Oluyemi Kayode Stadium to eat. We had not spent five minutes inside the restaurant when all these thugs came in to attack us,” he said.

Olowoyo claimed that the attackers appeared to be looking specifically for Sowore, quoting them as shouting, “Where is that Sowore? Where is him?”

He also alleged that he recognised some of the attackers as people who had assaulted him during the October 2020 #EndSARS protests.

“This was how I was attacked during the #EndSARS 2020 protest. The same faces came to attack us again yesterday,” he said.

The activist accused individuals linked to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State of having knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the attack.

“The reason for yesterday’s attack can only be explained by the APC Ekiti chapter,” he alleged.

Olowoyo further claimed that the timing of the security warning and the attackers’ arrival at the restaurant raised questions about possible surveillance and coordination.

He alleged that the attack was sponsored by the state government, saying, “Their main target was Sowore, and it is crystal clear to someone like me that it was a government-sponsored attack. They planned it so well, and they executed their plans.”

He also said the attackers took mobile phones and other personal belongings belonging to members of Sowore’s entourage.

“All our phones and belongings are still in their possession till this very moment,” he said.

The allegations have raised questions about how the attackers allegedly located Sowore and his team at the restaurant, where Olowoyo said no rally or political gathering had been planned.

The Ekiti State Police Command had earlier described the incident as an altercation, a characterisation disputed by Sowore and members of his team.

The allegations against the governor’s security officer and claims of government sponsorship had not been independently established in the account provided.

The Force headquarters however could not react to the story, directing our reporter to the Ekiti State police command’s statement issued earlier.

The Ekiti State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abutu Sunday in the statement, did not address the issues allegations against the CSO instead, it focused on the issues leading to the attack on the Sowore, the activist and their team.