How DSS Re-Arrested Sowore In Court Less Than 24 Hours After His Release
BY AMOS DUNIA, ABUJA – Heavily armed personnel of the Department of State Services on Friday stormed the Federal High Court, Abuja during sitting to forcefully rearrest the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore.
The DSS personnel wielding guns were however resisted by some supporters of Sowore that were court for his trial. As the commotion of the attempt to forcefully arrest him was going on, the trial Judge, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu and some senior lawyers that could not believe wht was going on, quickly left the chamber.
Lawyer to Sowore, the convener of the #RevolutionNow protest, Mr. Femi Falana SAN expressed disgust at the gestapo style of the DSS in desecrating the tempo of Justice to effect arrest of an unarmed citizen.
Falana noted that not even during military rule did the nation experienced such a barbaric attempt to disregard and reduce another arm of government like it happened in the Court.
Falana said more worrisome is the fact that Sowore and his co-defendant Bakare were released after over 129 days in detention by the same DSS less than 24 hours ago based on an order of the court.
According to Falana; “This morning, the SSS lawyers and the lawyers of the Attorney-General reported to the court that the order of the court had been complied with and I confirmed because our clients were released last night.
“But as soon as the court adjourned the matter to February next year, the SSS operatives pounced on the court, disrupted proceeding and then attempted to arrest our clients even in the web of the court.
“That was extremely embarrassing because it has never happened in Nigeria where you enter a court to arrest anybody, even an alleged coup plotter.
“The atmosphere was very rowdy, but I insisted that the arrest could not be carried out within the precinct of the court.
“He (Sowore) 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 in detention for the past four months, unless the SSS wants to tell the whole world that he committed this fresh offence while in their custody,” Falana stressed.
Sowore and his co-defendant, Bakare, who regained their freedom from the detention facility of the DSS at about 7:15 pm on Thursday December 5, 2019, are facing seven counts charges bordering on conspiracy to commit treasonable felony, money laundering and cybercrimes amongst others.
The duo were arrested on August 3, 2019 few days to the planned #RevolutionNow protest which they explained was against “bad governance” in the country.
