Sowore Attacked During Lagos City Marathon

Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters, was allegedly attacked by a group of men at the Lagos City Marathon on Saturday morning.

The men also attacked some journalists and Sowore’s crew members covering the event, allegedly damaging their cameras and other devices.

Sowore, former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the 2023 elections, posted a video of the incident on X.

“How occupying a canopy after the Lagos Marathon 10k infuriated some rogue elements who assaulted our crew members and journalists, leading to unprovoked attacks, which led to the seizure of a camera of one of our journalists insisting they view and delete all the contents because it caught them live attacking our crew in Lagos,” he wrote.

Speaking with journalists during a press conference on Friday, Sowore, who has famously participated in top marathons like the New York City Marathon, among others, revealed that his penchant for long-distance races was rooted in their ability to build resilience.

He said, “Marathon is all about resilience, and if you cannot grow physically running anymore, you can use your brain to keep going, and that’s what activism is all about. We are always being punished for what’s right, and sometimes that’s why you find yourself lonely in isolation, and you need some kind of spirit of resilience to be able to continue.”

The Access Bank Lagos City Marathon drew thousands of runners, both local and foreign, across its categories of 10 km and full event of 42.5 km.