A coalition of Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria, CSOs, has issued a 14-day ultimatum to President Muhammadu Buhari to show commitment to the rule of law by releasing Revolution Now co-convener, Omoyele Sowore and other detained human rights activists or the group will be forced to mobilize a mass action to occupy the office of the human rights commission.
Their demand was prompted by the re-arrest of Sowore in the courtroom by the operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, on Thursday
The group disagreed with the response of President Buhari through a statement signed by his media aide, Garba Shehu that the President adhere to the rule of law in handling Sowore’s case.
The CSOs include the Amnesty International, Centre for Democracy and development, Concerned Nigerians, Transition Monitoring Group, and SERAP.
Sowore has been in DSS detention for 124 days. Sowore was first arrested by the DSS on Saturday, August 3 for planning a nationwide protest tagged #RevolutionNow.
The Nigerian government filed additional charges against Sowore on Friday, September 20, a day before the completion of the initial 45 days the court allowed the DSS to keep him in custody.
Sowore’s lawyer Femi Falana in an earlier affidavit told the court “that the applicant (Sowore) herein has never been charged with any criminal offence whatsoever” and should be granted bail.
The DSS, on November 15, said it was prepared to release Sowore, the convener of the planned RevolutionNow protest but waiting for appropriate persons to take his delivery.
Dr Peter Afunanya, the Public Relations’ Officer of the Service disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.
He said appropriate persons were yet to turn up to take his delivery adding that he would be released once the processes were concluded.
