Human rights activist and publisher, Omoyele Sowore, has recounted a controversial encounter he had with Gbenga Obasanjo, son of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, during his years in journalism.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Sowore said he met Gbenga during a trip and later travelled with him from Abeokuta to Lagos. According to him, the journey turned into a lengthy conversation during which Gbenga allegedly shared personal and sensitive information about his family and several prominent individuals.
Sowore said Gbenga later offered to accommodate him in Lagos and promised to provide documents to support some of the claims he had made. During their discussion, Gbenga allegedly raised doubts about the paternity of his own children and suggested that his father might have been responsible.
The activist said he was shocked by the revelation and decided to leave for another hotel that night.
Afterwards, Sowore said he prepared a story based on the interview and sent it to his colleagues, Bayo Onanuga and Babafemi Ojudu, for review. According to him, both journalists were alarmed by the content and joked that if the story was published, they would stay away from work for a week because of the likely reaction it would generate.
Sowore made the disclosure while reflecting on some of the most memorable and controversial stories he handled during his career as an investigative journalist.
In his words, “I put up the story, sent it to Bayo and Babafemi Ojudu, when they read the interview, they said that if we publish this interview, we’re not coming to work for a week.”
