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Omoyele Sowore was first arrested in August when he planed for a Protest that is the RevolutionNow Protest, Two day to the protest he was arrested by the Department of State Security and was charged to court.
After bail was granted to him, the DSS refuted Releasing him with his co., Olawalw Bakare but on series of orders the court ordered for the State Security to release Omoyele Sowore and Olawale Bakare but it proved all to no avail.
On the 5th of December, A high court gave DSS 24 hours to release him.
Sowore: Court Edict release Sowore within 24 hours
Abuja Federal High Court on Thursday edicted the Department of State Services, DSS, to release Omoyele Sowore, convener of RevolutionNow Movement within 24 hours.
Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu also ordered that Sowore’s co-accused, Olawale Bakare be released within 24 hours.
The judge further ordered the secret police to pay the sum of N100, 000 to Sowore for refusing to release him on bail despite two court orders to that effect.
Justice Ojukwu consequently adjourned the trial of the case brought against them by the Nigerian Government till December 6 for continuation.
Sowore has been in custody of the DSS after he was arrested for allegedly calling for a revolution.
The court had recently ordered the release of Sowore alongside Olawale Adebayo.
The DSS is yet to comply with the order and claimed that no surety had come to take Sowore on bail.
A few weeks ago, a group of protesters led by Deji Adeyanju alleged that they were given N1m to stop the protest aimed at demanding for Sowore’s release.
Few hours then Sowore was released.
Sowore finally regains freedom after 126 days
The Department of state Security DSS has finally released the Publisher of Sahara Reporters and Organizer of the #RevolutionNow Protest Omoyele Sowore.
Sowore has been in detention for 126 day even after orders by a High court to release him.
His release is coming after a high court today ordered the DSS to release him within 24 hours.
Sowore was released along side Olawale Bakare.
DSS set out to Re-arrest Sowore in court (VIDEO)
Then he wad finally arrested again.
Sowore injured as DSS re-arrest Sowore
In a renewed bid by the Operative of The Department of State Security to Re- arrest Omoyele Sowore and Olawale Bakare, Sowore has sustained bruises all over his body in the course of being rough-handled by DSS operatives inside the court.
Meanwhile Scores of heavily-armed operatives of the Department of State Services are currently chasing the vehicle of Senior Advocate of Nigeria and lawyer to activists, Omoyele Sowore and Olawale Bakare, after he drove them out of the premises of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The move follows the disruption of court proceedings by DSS operatives during the commencement of trial in a case brought against the activists by the Nigerian Government on Friday morning at the Federal High Court.
The secret police had made fruitless attempts to rearrest Sowore and Bakare inside the courtroom having only released them on bail on Thursday night.
DSS operatives chased out lawyers from the courtroom and attacked journalists after which they re-arrested Sowore.
The incident led to rancour and commotion inside and around the court premises with the armed operatives preventing Sowore and team from leaving the place.
However, after several minutes of tension, Falana drove the two men in his car out of the court premises with DSS operatives in several vehicles giving them a hot chase behind.
Earlier, Falana later met with Justice Ojukwu and DSS’ lawyer, Hassan Liman, in a bid to resolve the matter.
The judge adjourned the case to 11, 12 and 13 of February 2020 for further hearing.
Sowore: Falana blasts DSS, gives full details of court invasion
Femi Falana (SAN), the counsel to Omoyele Sowore, has reacted to the press release of the Department of State Services (DSS) in which it absolved itself of responsibility for the armed invasion of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Falana, in a statement he personally signed on Sunday, condemned the DSS for what he called the desecration of Court No 7 of Hon. Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu and the illegal rearrest of Omoyele Sowore.
He said the DSS pretended to forget that the abominable desecration of the Federal High Court was covered live by domestic and international media outlets and journalists.
The full statement
“The Service argues on the one hand that the arrest of Sowore was “stage managed” by his supporters in order to give the Service a bad name whilst also admitting at the same time that officers of the Service arrested Sowore outside the Court.
“Having declared that the Service arrested Sowore “outside the court”, despite the “stage managing” argument, what the Nigerian people want to see happen is the immediate release of Sowore, pending his trial as ordered by the court.
“INDUBITABLE FACTS CONFIRMING DESECRATION OF COURT AND RE-ARREST BY THE SERVICE
“However, the following facts underscore our insistence that the Service was solely responsible for the desecration of the hallowed chambers of the court: By the advantage of information technology, the whole world has placed responsibility for the gangsteric desecration of the court on the SSS.
“The SSS cannot extricate itself from the abominable acts of 6th December, 2019. When I informed the court that fresh charges were being filed against our clients and that they could be re-arrested, the prosecution denied any such plan. As soon as the case was adjourned the SSS pounced on Sowore and caused a disruption of the proceedings of the court.
“Having taken over the courtroom vi et armis Justice Ojukwu hurriedly rose and asked the Registrar to adjourn all other cases. After the learned trial judge had risen for the day she summoned the heads of the prosecution and defence teams to her chambers.
“When the lead prosecutor, Dr. Liman Hassan SAN, denied knowledge of the invasion of her court she directed him to invite the head of the SSS team in the court. When challenged to justify the invasion of the court the officer could not. He apologised to Justice Ojukwu on behalf of the SSS.
“The judge then directed the officer to withdraw the SSS operatives from the courtroom. The directive was complied with as the operatives withdrew from the courtroom but rushed out to join their colleagues who had taken over the entire court house.
“Notwithstanding that the SSS could not produce any warrant of arrest for Sowore the defence team decided that I should accompany him to the SSS headquarters in view of his physical brutalisation inside the courtroom and the open threat to his life. I did and ensured that he was driven in my car to the SSS headquarters where I handed him over to the officers on duty.
“Thereafter, I requested for a meeting with the head of the SSS but I was informed that he was not in the office. Though, ordinarily, officers of the Service do not wear any uniform, on the 6th day of December, some of them were in mufti, many were not only armed but also masked while others disguised in lawyer’s black and white suit.
“Regardless of the form of appearance, the officers of the Service inside Court No. 7 were identifiable by their roles and acts of seizing Sowore and pinning him down. It is an utter poor reasoning to say that Sowore’s supporters were also those bent on injuring him in order to arrest him.
“The argument of the Service in this respect is as unfortunate and pitiable as the earlier argument of the Service in respect of the Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi who was once accused of wanting to set ablaze his own house. If Sowore’s supporters subjected him to such brutalisation in the presence of SSS operatives why were they not arrested for contravening the provisions of the Anti Torture Act, 2017?
“Or were the SSS operatives expecting the supporters of a defendant wanted by the State to kill him in their presence? Before submitting himself for arrest Sowore had rightly demanded for a warrant of arrest and detention order but the sss operatives were unable to produce either.
“ON RATIONALISATION OF RE-ARREST OF SOWORE BY THE SERVICE
In rationalizing the re-arrest of Sowore, which is denied in the same Press statement, the Service alleged that Sowore held meetings with some people. Assuming without conceding that Sowore held meetings with some people in Transcorp Hotel as alleged by the SSS, why did the Prosecution not inform the trial court that the defendant had breached his bail conditions?
“ON THE CLAIM OF THE SERVICE THAT IT IS LAW-ABIDING
The sss says it is a law abiding institution. But why did it refuse to comply with the order of Justice Taiwo to release Sowore? Why did the SSS threaten to report the judge to the NJC for granting bail to Sowore?
“Why did the SSS subject the order of Justice Ojukwu for the release of Sowore to its own approval by asking the sureties already verified by the judge to report themselves to the SSS? Why the SSS wait for the 24-hour ultimatum issued by the trial judge before releasing Sowore and Bakare?
“Incidentally, the current prosecutor, Dr. Liman Hassan SAN, was the counsel to the defendant in the case of FRN v Air Commodore Mohammed. In that case the order of Justice Nnamdi Dimgba for the release of the defendant on bail was flouted by the SSS. As if that was not enough, the SSS invaded the home of the judge on 8th October 2016 when the houses of judges accused of corruption were raided.
“Even though I have never appeared before Justice Dimgba I have always known him as a judge of impeccable integrity. So, I challenged the SSS for painting an incorruptible judge with the brush of shame. It was after my intervention that the NJC gave the judge a clean bill of health. Thereafter, the judge was compelled to withdraw from the case.
“The SSS thought that it had won but it was a pyrrhic victory. Thus, Justice John Tsoho (current Chief Judge of the federal high court) to whom the case was assigned reiterated the orders of Justice Dimgba and proceeded to rule that trial would not commence in the case until the defendant was released from custody. It was at that stage that the DSS complied with the order of the federal high court.
“In the light of the foregoing we reiterate our demand for the release of not only Sowore in obedience to court orders, pending the verdict of the court in their trial. We equally call for the release of all other political detainees, and criminal suspects who have been admitted to bail pending trial by competent courts.
“Finally, it is common knowledge that this country was ruled by military dictators for about three decades. On no occasion did security operatives invade court premises to arrest political activists inside a courtroom. Therefore, the bizarre harassment of courts cannot be tolerated under a democratically government that claims to operate under the rule of law.
Sowore: Justice becoming a thing of the Past – Davido
DSS Re-arrested Sowore, Bakare for Fresh Charges – Falana
Femi Falana the Counsel to Sahara Reporters Publisher and RevolutionNow Protest Convener Omoyele Sowore has broken silence over the re-arrest his client by the Department of State Services, DSS.
Falana revealed that the DSS said they were inviting Sowore and his co-accused, Olawale Bakare for questioning at their office on fresh charges.
He, however, stated that the secret police was yet to disclose what the charges are.
The Senior lawyer made the disclosure to Channels Television while condemning DSS’ invasion of an Abuja courtroom, where they chased away lawyers before re-arresting Sowore.
According to Falana: “The atmosphere was very rowdy, but I insisted that the arrest could not be carried out within the precinct of the court. He was going to be arrested outside the premises but there was a crowd that resisted the arrest, but I appealed to everybody and asked Sowore to jump into my car and so we drove to the office of the SSS because they said he will just answer a few questions, but now he is being detained.
“We are going to take steps under the law by asking for his release again since they are claiming this is a fresh arrest.
“Nobody has disclosed yet what his charges are; he couldn’t have committed any other offence because he has been detained for the past four months unless the SSS wants to tell the whole world that he committed this fresh offence while in their custody.”
Sowore: I’m not sure Nigeria has a President – Pastor Giwa
Sowore Re-arrest: Nigeria sliding into Frightening Dictatorship – PDP
Following the Re-arrest of Omoyele Sowore and Olawale Bakare in court the People’s Democratic Party PDP has said that the furious invasion of the sanctity of the Federal High Court by the Department of State Services (DSS) further confirms that Nigeria, under the Buhari Presidency, is finally sliding into a frightening dictatorship.
In a statement it released on its official Twitter account the party condemned the re-arrest.
“The party alerts that the invasion of the court is a vindication of its earlier stand that the nation is no longer governed by democratic principles of rule or law and dictates of the constitution.
Today, the world watched with shock as operatives of the Presidency-controlled DSS, in a most horrific manner, swooped on the court, held the judiciary to ransom, disrupted proceedings, scared away the judge, chased away lawyers and journalists, attacked and re-arrested persons standing trial within the precincts of the court, in a manner that can only be obtainable in Idi Amin’s Uganda.
The invasion is in a forceful suspension of our constitutional order and a further battering of the judiciary, which points to an emerging lawlessness that can only find space in a military regime.
Without prejudice to the charge against the Convener of the “Revolution Now” movement, Omoyele Sowore, the PDP holds that, in a normal democracy, it is the duty of the court to determine the fate of an accused according to the laws and not a resort to brute force by the government to silence persons with dissenting voices.
Our party notes that such a violation, as embarrassingly witnessed in the Abuja court this weekend, is a direct invitation to anarchy and a huge threat to the unity, peace, stability and corporate existence of our nation and the safety of our citizens.
ndeed, this is not the Nigeria our citizens yearn for and it is imperative to restate that Nigeria, under the @Muhamadu BuhariPresidency, is fast sliding into a dark country where, laws are suspended, the judiciary is assaulted and citizens are stripped of their fundamental rights.
The PDP calls on well meaning Nigerians and the international community to call the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency to order before its actions derail our nation and trigger a breakdown of law and order in the land.
The international community must have more than a passing glance at the situation in Nigeria as any crisis in our country, God forbid, given our population, is capable of having a negative spill over effect across the African continent and other parts of the world.
Sowore: APC attacks Atiku, PDP for condemning Buhari, DSS
The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Sunday rebuked the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, for condemning the Buhari government and the Department of State Services (DSS) over last Friday’s court invasion.
Recall that DSS operatives on Friday re-arrested Omoyele Sowore, convener of RevolutionNow campaign, a situation that has generated local and international criticisms.
In a statement Sunday night, Lanre Issa-Onilu, APC National Publicity Secretary, said Atiku and the PDP chose to present and spread concocted alternative facts and lies on the incident.
It said the presidency has clarified that the DSS does not necessarily need the president’s permission in all cases to carry out its essential and constitutional responsibilities.
“Whether Sowore flouted any of his bail conditions or staged the incident in court is another matter which the court and the prosecuting agency should address”, APC stated.
“Atiku, in his horrid statement particularly, accused the DSS of attacking the presiding judge among other lies being chorused by the PDP and their hirelings. Documentary evidence such as videos and pictures have shown that the tales are a complete ruse until anyone is able to present contrary evidence.
“If Atiku’s intervention was sincere, having realized the truth, he has not deemed it proper to apologise to Nigerians for misinforming them on the incident. Instead, he hangs shamelessly on his lies. A commentator has correctly described Atiku as “the king of the bandwagon”.
“The PDP and Atiku, in their dubious attempt at painting the APC government bad by all means, have chosen to exercise no restraint whatsoever in spreading falsehood. We would continue to reiterate the need for Nigerians to be wary of these people who are bent on bringing our country down.
“The APC, therefore, unequivocally rejects the inciting messages and criminal antics of some individuals and partisans who have embarked on a campaign of calumny against this administration and are calling for a forceful takeover of government. They are cowards and enemies of Nigeria.
“We call on Nigerians to look at the issue of Sowore’s arrest and subsequent trial dispassionately and devoid of the skewed narratives and sentiments being propagated by the likes of Atiku and PDP.
“Sowore contested and woefully lost the 2019 presidential election, garnering a meagre 33,953 votes compared to the winner, President Muhammadu Buhari, who polled over 15 million votes. He left the country afterwards and held talks, with pictures to prove, with another wanted secessionist. He returned to the country and openly threatened to lead a violent revolution against a democratically elected government.
“Our laws are clear on treason and Nigerians would expect decisive actions from our law enforcement agencies and government. Any attempt to truncate our democracy and threaten our collective peace and safety must and will be resisted using the full weight and instrumentalities of the law.”
Sowore Re-arrest: Control your wild dogs – Soyinka blasts Buhari
Prominent Nigerians has risen up to condemn the unlawful and outrageous re- arrest of the Popular Sahara Reporters Publisher, Omoyele Sowore and his co., Olawale Bakare.
Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, has told President Muhammadu Buhari to “rein in your wild dogs of disobedience”, after the Department of State Services (DSS) rearrested the convener of #RevolutionNow movement, Omoyele Sowore.
In a statement on Friday, Soyinka described Sowore’s rearrest as a degradation of the judiciary.
“Only yesterday, in my commentary on the ongoing Sowore saga, I pointed out the near-perfect similarity between plain crude thuggery and the current rage of court disobedience. Little did I suspect that the state children of disobedience would aspire to the level of the African wild dogs on a pack hunt,” Soyinka said.
“I apologize for underestimating the DSS capacity for the unthinkable. I reiterate the nation’s concern, indeed alarm, about the escalating degradation of the judiciary through multiple means, of which disobedience of court orders is fast becoming the norm.
“May I remind this government that disobedience calls to disobedience, and that disobedience of the orders of the constitutional repository of the moral authority of arbitration – the judiciary – can only lead eventually to a people’s disregard of the authority of other arms of civil society, a state of desperation that is known, recognized and accepted as – civil disobedience.
“It is so obvious – state disobedience leads eventually to civil disobedience, piecemeal or through a collective withdrawal of recognition of other structures of authority. That way leads to chaos but – who set it in motion? As is often the case, the state, unquestionably. Such a state bears full responsibility for the ensuing social condition known as anomie.
“It has become imperative and urgent to send this message to President-General Buhari: Rein in your wild dogs of disobedience. And for a start, get a trainer to teach them some basic court manners!”
On Friday, DSS operatives rearrested Sowore and Olawale Bakare at the federal high court in Abuja, less than 24 hours after they were released on the order of the court.
