The African Action Congress (AAC) has strongly criticised Punch Newspapers for publishing a report aimed at discrediting its national leader, Omoyele Sowore.

The report claimed that a women’s group, HerRights Watch, attacked Sowore over his recent comments on the Nigerian Police. But AAC’s spokesperson, Adeyeye Olorunfemi, said the group does not exist and accused the Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, of creating fake organisations to attack activists.

In the response issued by Adeyeye via his Facebook page, he faulted the report’s credibility, accusing the newspaper of lending its platform to a “phantom group” with no verifiable existence.

He made it known that the publication failed to conduct basic journalistic due diligence before publishing what he described as a politically motivated attack.

“This is always the issue I have with the Nigerian media,” Olorunfemi wrote on his official Facebook page Tuesday morning. “Are our media houses so lazy that they can’t do the tiniest investigations before publishing stories from ‘organizations’? When did this organization start? Who are the characters behind them?”

Olorunfemi alleged that the group, HerRights Watch, was a creation of the Nigeria Police Force’s Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, whom he referred to as the “illegal IGP’s palace jester.” According to him, Adejobi has a track record of using fake civil society groups to counter criticisms of the police and attack activists.

“No Police PRO has created fake groups to attack genuine activists and concerns as much as Muyiwa. It’s his style,” he said.

He also criticized the editorial judgement at Punch Newspapers, accusing the outlet of deliberately amplifying disinformation under the guise of balanced reporting.

“What’s more embarrassing is that they, including the editor, know that the only way to get their ‘balance’ from this corrupt gig is to ask Omoyele Sowore for his reaction to a fake group. Being a lover of press freedom, Omoyele Sowore would always oblige. But there’s only so much nonsense that one man can take. This is getting out of hand.”

Olorunfemi went further to demand accountability within the media house, insisting the editor responsible for publishing the report be fired.

“Responsible journalism should include having the requisite knowledge on misinformation and detecting extreme rhetorics from organizations that are faceless. I think that’s missing with our media outfits and it’s a shame Punch Newspapers is also a part of this menace,” he said. “If pushed to the wall, we won’t hesitate to take steps to investigate how this phony statement from Muyiwa’s phony group and money to get this published exchanged hands.”

In a follow-up post, Olorunfemi broadened his criticism of the Nigerian media landscape, stating, “Nigeria media is the agenda setter for the corrupt ruling class. For example, it sold the narrative to Nigerians that subsidy was favouring the rich. It should go so the poor can enjoy. Scam!”

The controversy comes days after Sowore led a protest advocating for improved welfare for both retired and active police officers, a move that many saw as ironic given his long-standing critique of police brutality. However, the AAC maintains that its criticism of the force is rooted in structural injustice, not hatred for individuals.