The presidency has said that the Department of State Services, DSS, does not necessarily need the permission of President Muhammadu Buhari to arrest the co-convener of Revolution Now, Omoyele Sowore.
This is according to a statement released on Sunday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
In the statement, Shehu said the DSS does not necessarily need the permission of the presidency in all cases to carry out its essential responsibilities that are laid down in the Nigerian Constitution – which was the foundation for the restoration of democracy in our country in 1999.
The statement noted that it should not surprise anyone who has followed his actions and words that Sowore is a person of interest to the DSS.
The presidency said that the detained activist called for a revolution to overthrow the democratically elected government of Nigeria.
Shehu said Sowore did so on television, and from a privileged position as the owner of a widely read digital newspaper run from the United States of America.
“He founded an organisation, Revolution Now, to launch, in their own words, “Days of Rage”, with the publicised purpose of fomenting mass civil unrest and the elected administration’s overthrow.
“No government will allow anybody to openly call for destabilization in the country and do nothing.”
According to the presidential media aide, Sowore is not an ordinary citizen expressing his views freely on social media and the internet.
“He was a presidential candidate himself, who ran – and lost – as the flag bearer of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the February 23 general elections.
The presidency said that Nigeria’s democracy was a long time in the making, and was achieved after decades of often harsh, military-led overthrows of government: the kind of situation Sowore was advocating.
He said, “To believe in and desire an armed revolution is not normal amongst ‘human rights activists’, as Sowore has been incorrectly described.
“Again, it is no surprise that he should be a person of interest to the DSS.
“Nigeria is already dealing with an insurgency that has left millions of people displaced and desperate in the northeastern region of our country.
“The Boko Haram militants, who are behind the violence, also fancy themselves to be fighting for some sort of revolution.
“Nigerians do not need another spate of lawlessness and loss of lives all in the name of ‘revolution’, especially not one that is orchestrated by a man who makes his home in faraway New York – and who can easily disappear and leave behind whatever instability he intends to cause, to wit, Nnamdi Kanu.”
Mr. Shehu in his concluding argument said the Sowore case is a matter for the DSS, acting under its powers.
