Human rights advocate Omoyele Sowore has urged Nigerians to equip themselves with digital tools like AI-powered glasses and body cameras to expose police misconduct and combat systemic abuse.
His appeal follows a recent incident in Lagos where a man was harassed by police simply for wearing glasses.
Sowore recounted how, in January 2025, he used his Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses to record a notorious police extortion team near Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Rather than disciplining the corrupt officers, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, ordered Sowore’s arrest, charging him with cybercrime for allegedly filming the misconduct. During the Federal High Court trial, Sowore’s passport was seized, and his medically prescribed AI glasses became a contentious issue. At the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters protest in Abuja, his glasses were forcibly taken by police operatives, which was captured on video, and though later returned.
Sowore accused Nigeria’s political elites of fearing technological advancements, citing Senate Chief Whip Opeyemi Bamidele’s description of social media as a “national threat”. He argued that this fear fuels the government’s opposition to digital resistance efforts, which have become their most formidable challenge. The activist also praised a Lagos motorist whose brave recording of police harassment has become a symbol of rising citizen defiance against corruption.
In January 2025, I utilized my Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses to confront a police extortion gang on a busy Lagos road…instead of punishing these officers, the illegal IGP Kayode Egbetokun ordered my arrest and charged me with cybercrime simply for exposing their corruption. The court proceedings included seizing my passport and questioning my medicated AI glasses, which was unprecedented.
I commend the bravery of the Lagos motorist who stood up to corrupt officers; his courage is immortalized on video. I urge every Nigerian to equip themselves with AI glasses, body cams, and other digital devices to reveal brutality and prevent cover-ups. The era of darkness and impunity is ending. Technology is our witness, and our resistance must be AI-powered to defeat the old order
The growing digital resistance signifies a new chapter in Nigeria’s fight for justice and transparency, with technology playing a crucial role in ensuring that abuses no longer go unseen or unpunished.
