Olusegun Adeniyi, chairman of
THISDAY editorial board, says the continued detention of Omoyele Sowore,
convener of #RevolutionNow movement, despite a court order directing his
release is an affront on the rule of law.
Writing via his Twitter handle on
Friday, Adeniyi said Sowore had predicted that he wouldn’t be released even if
the court grants him bail.
A federal high court in Abuja had
directed the secret service to release Sowore who was arrested on August 2
ahead of a nationwide protest he was promoting.
Taiwo Taiwo, the judge, said
there was no subsisting order to keep him in detention.
All attempts by Sowore’s defence
team to secure Sowore’s release following the court order have not been
successful.
Adeniyi said it is shameful that
Sowore is still being detained more than 24 hours after his bail conditions
were met.
“That Sowore is still in
detention more than 24 hours after his bail conditions were perfected is a real
shame and a serious affront on the rule of law,” he said.
“I hope the authorities will act
quickly on the court order. I visited Sowore two weeks ago and sadly, he
predicted this scenario.”
The DSS says it has not been
served the court order directing Sowore’s release.
But Inibehe Effiong, a lawyer who
is a part of Sowore’s defence, had said that DSS agents “chased away”
the bailiff and the legal team when they visited the secret service
headquarters to serve them the court order on Friday.
Peter Afunanya, DSS spokesman,
did not respond to enquires for comments.
The lawyer also said the DSS
evaded getting served with the court order on Thursday and accused the service
of showing disregard for the judiciary.
“We went there but they chased
everybody away; they were very hostile. We returned a second time and they also
chased everybody away,” he said.
“This is just persecution; an
attempt to silence the man (Sowore). As far as we are concerned, it is an
attack on the rule of law.”
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