Blogger ‘Ijele Speaks’ Claims He Was Contacted To Assassinate Activist Sowore, Rejected Offer
Nigerian blogger and social commentator, Chizorom Harrisson Ofoegbu, popularly known as Ijele Speaks, has claimed that he was once contacted and asked to assassinate human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore.
Ijele made the revelation during a podcast appearance titled “The King Of The Game,” where he spoke at length about his past relationship with Sowore, the founder of SaharaReporters, and the circumstances that led to a fallout between them.
During the interview, the host asked Ijele whether he believed Sowore was “buying Igbo sympathy,” particularly given Sowore’s past support for him during public controversies.
Responding, Ijele said that personal relationships would not stop him from speaking what he described as the truth.
“Of course, that does not stop me from saying the truth. That does not… I’ve fought for him too,” Ijele said.
The blogger then made a startling claim, stating that he had once been approached with an offer to assassinate Sowore but rejected it outright.
“Let me say it here. I hope the people he surrounds himself with will reject the type of offer I rejected to assassinate him. I will tell you this for free. Yes, somebody made that offer to me. When we are off air, I will tell you who,” he said.
When the host sought clarification, asking if the request was indeed to kill Sowore, Ijele replied emphatically: “Yes. Yes. I called a man, he’s in the DIA (Defence Intelligence Agency). I called him and said, please, are you aware of such a thing? He said no, he’s not aware, that the guy is not even a serious threat as such. I said, then why is this man doing this?”
According to Ijele, he advised that any legal issues involving Sowore should not be prolonged, particularly with regard to Nigeria’s political climate at the time.
“I even told him, this case you people have with him, make sure it doesn’t get to the 2023 election because that’s when you will see the impact of his incarceration. It’s not proper,” he added.
The blogger further claimed he had previously lobbied on Sowore’s behalf without the activist’s knowledge.
“I lobbied without telling him. I think I’ve mentioned this to Deji Adeyanju before,” he said, referring to activist and lawyer Adeyanju.
“My woman is aware of this thing I’m telling you.”
Ijele also insisted that his past actions demonstrated that he once supported Sowore’s cause, even when he was politically aligned with former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari.
“These are things I did for him. I was going to the courtroom when he was going to court, even when I was a staunch Buhari supporter. Go to my old YouTube account. I’ve lost access to it, but you will still see every program I was doing. You will see ‘Free Omoyele Sowore’ there,” he said.
However, Ijele said the relationship between them deteriorated largely because of disagreements surrounding detained separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu.
“What brought my rift with him was this Nnamdi Kanu issue. You are saying you fought for me against the criminal pastors, but you went and joined those that the criminal pastors used,” he stated.
He further alleged that certain political actors attempted to influence narratives around issues involving the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), though he declined to name some individuals publicly.
“A serving senator in Abia State was contacted in a case of fake miracle. What he told me was that he told the person that reached out to him that he would sign on by taking an oath not to mention anything about IPOB or the Southeastern National Platform again,” he said.
Ijele also claimed that the individual involved owns a newspaper and suggested that some powerful figures were connected to the matter, though he said he would not disclose names on air.
Despite his criticisms, the blogger acknowledged that Sowore remains one of Nigeria’s most prominent activists.
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