Lawyer demands Ikogosi Marathon organisers withdraw Sowore exclusion statement
- Lawyer Tope Temokun wants the Ikogosi Marathon Initiative to withdraw its statement excluding Omoyele Sowore from the 2026 race.
- The organisers cited security concerns and alleged documented conduct, but Temokun says they named no specific misconduct or rule.
- Police in Ekiti said 11 suspects were arrested after the October 30 attack on Sowore and his team in Ado-Ekiti.
A lawyer for Omoyele Sowore has demanded that the organisers of the Ikogosi Marathon withdraw their statement excluding the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate from the 2026 race, warning that he will take legal action if they do not.
Tope Temokun, principal counsel at Tope Temokun Chambers, made the demand in a statement to journalists on Saturday. He said the organisers' announcement was insensitive because it came while Sowore was still recovering from injuries from an attack on him and his team in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, on October 30.
The Ekiti State Police Command has said 11 suspects have been arrested over that attack.
What the organisers said, and what the lawyer disputes
According to Temokun, the Ikogosi Marathon Initiative, led by Makinde Araoye, said it excluded Sowore because of security concerns and alleged documented conduct, while denying any political motive.
The lawyer said the statement did not name any specific misconduct by Sowore or the particular participation rule he was said to have broken. He asked the organisers to state the alleged conduct, publish the rules and explain how they were applied, and to give Sowore a chance to respond.
Why issue a public statement disqualifying a man who was already battling incapacitating injuries from an attack?
He argued that if medical fitness was the issue, a medical assessment should have guided the decision, and that if security was the concern, the organisers should have moved to protect participants rather than penalise the victim of an assault.
Temokun called the reasons discriminatory and said they were inconsistent with constitutional guarantees of dignity and freedom from discrimination. He also questioned whether Sowore's political activities played a part, saying a claim of political neutrality does not by itself settle questions about fairness.
He said whether the injuries would have stopped Sowore from running was beside the point, because a public statement could still damage his reputation and affect his chances in future competitions.
What happens next
Temokun is demanding the immediate withdrawal of the statement, a public apology to Sowore and the removal of any adverse designation affecting his future participation in sporting events.
He warned that if the organisers do not comply, he will go to court to challenge the exclusion and seek redress for any injury caused by the publication.
