Oby Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education and co-convener of the #BringBackOurGirls movement, has slammed the Nigerian government for arresting Omoyele Sowore.
Sowore has been championing a protest against bad governance of Nigeria with the #RevolutionNow movement.
In the early hours of Saturday, men of the Department of State Services stormed Sowore’s apartment and whisked him away to an unknown destination.
Ezekwesili, in a series of posts, called for Sowore’s release.
Tweeting on social media with her personal handle @ObyEzeks, she stated that Sowore’s arrest was a move to repress human rights in the country, adding that the Nigerian government is completely out of touch with the reality.
Her tweets read, “All well-meaning Nigerians should stand with @YeleSowore and defend his constitutional right and freedom to protest any matter of governance that worries him. Mr Sowore’s convening of citizens to protest poor governance – via #RevolutionNow- is constitutionally guaranteed.
“If our @NGRPresident @MBuhari & FG @AsoRock are not completely out of touch with the reality of distress of majority of citizens of this country, they would handle @YeleSowore‘s right to convene #RevolutionNow wisely. Many of us his fellow #OfficeOfTheCitizen stand with him.
“I therefore join the voices of all well-meaning Nigerians to ask @AsoRock @NGRPresident @MBuhari to:#FreeSoworeNow! #FreeSoworeNow!! #FreeSoworeNow!!! #FreeSoworeNow!!!! #DefendCitizenSoworesRight to speech and protest captioned #RevolutionNow!
“Hmmmm. @AsoRock ought to know that they cannot sustain this unconstitutional habit of repression against #citizensrights. All these persistent acts of @NGRPresident to shrink the public space with rabid level of intolerance for dissension will surely fail. #FreeSoworeNow! Release Omoyele Sowore from custody.”
Odumakin, Soetan React
Human rights activist, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, and the National Coordinator of Democracy Vanguard, Adeola Soetan, have condemned the arrest of Omoyele Sowore by men of the Department of State Services in the early hours of Saturday.
Sowore was arrested for leading the #RevolutionNow protest to challenge the government to make Nigeria a better place for the masses.
Okei-Odumakin, reacting to the arrest of Sowore, condemned the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for its continuous repression of critics of its government.
Odumakin told SaharaReporters that the arrest of Sowore showed “a fledging culture of intolerance that may be gripping the country.
“Except he has committed any other offence that we are not aware of, calling a protest cannot be a crime under any law to warrant anticipatory arrest as has been done.”
She urged the government to immediately order the DSS to release Sowore who she described as a prisoner of conscience for every minute he is held.
On his part, Soetan, who has been at the forefront of democracy in Nigeria since military era, described the arrest of Sowore as “an act of government terrorism against unarmed civilian.”
He urged the Nigerian government to recognize and respect the constitutionally guaranteed rights of Nigerians, including freedom of speech and right to hold peaceful protest.
He posited that Sowore’s arrest would make free speech and protest impossible in the face of mass hunger, striking poverty, insecurity.
Soetan said, “The midnight arrest of Sowore by armed thugs of the Federal Government is stupid and condemnable. Protest is legitimate no matter its catchphrase, REVOLUTION NOW or mass protest.
“Those who foolishly justified the arrest should tell us which protest has been considered legitimate by government if not sponsored pro – government rallies alone.
“Did NLC call their protest a revolution before government / Ngige armed thugs assaulted them openly with intention to kill some of them?
“Arresting Sowore at night by the so – called armed DSS is an act of government terrorism against unarmed civilians.
“Actions like this that make free speech and protest impossible in the face of mass hunger, striking poverty, insecurity, unemployment and collapsed infrastructure in the midst of primitive accumulation of wealth by the privileged few make revolution inevitable. #FREESOWORENOW.”
Nnamdi Kanu Calls For End To Tyranny
Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has condemned the arrest and detention of Omoyele Sowore by the Department of State Services.
Sowore, a rights activist, was arrested in the early hours of Saturday by the Nigerian secret police over plans to organise a nationwide protest challenging bad governance.
Kanu and Sowore met in New York earlier in July to discuss strategies to “liberate” Nigerians.
In a tweet on Saturday, the IPOB leader said Buhari would not win the fight against the oppressed Nigerians, adding that continuous repression of Nigerians’ rights would lead to the collapse of the country.
He tweeted, “Fulani tyranny and primitive dictatorship will never win this war against the massed ranks of oppressed people in Nigeria. Suppressing the right to protest in a so-called democracy will only hasten the collapse of that zoo.
“#FreeSowore and allow the #RevolutionNow right to protest.”
Sowore is held incommunicado in an unknown location at the time of this report.
Atiku Condemns Sowore’s Arrest In Cryptic Post
Atiku Abubakar, former Nigerian vice-president has condemned what he described as “kidnappings in the guise of arrests”.
In a cryptic post suspected to be linked to the early morning arrest and detention of human rights activist Omoyele Sowore, the former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party said, “Freedom of speech is not only constitutionally guaranteed, it is the substructure of our democracy. These kidnappings in the guise of arrests stand condemned.”
Sowore’s arrest is in connection to a widely publicized #RevolutionNow Protest to challenge misgovernance in Nigeria.
Civil Societies, NGOs Intensify Efforts For Immediate Release Of Sowore
Nigerians woke up on Saturday to the arrest of Sowore, who was taken in a Gestapo manner by operatives of the Department of State Services.
The arrest of Omoyele Sowore by DSS has led to a social uproar in Nigeria.
His arrest is not unconnected to his championing of #RevolutionNow protest in demand of good governance from the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
High profile individuals, as well as civil societies and non-governmental organizations, are calling for his immediate release adding that the constitution of Nigeria permits the right to protest of all Nigerians.
A CSO, Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria, coalition of young Nigerians promoting good governance and citizen engagement, also joined the demand for Sowore’s release.
The CSO also express their demand on Twitter.
EiE said, “The arrest & detention of @YeleSowore by DSS belies Nigeria’s supposed commitment to human rights. The protest is a human right! #RevolutionNow #DaysOfRage
“This stifling of citizens’ voices is blatant lawlessness & an abuse.
The DSS itself being a creation of the law cannot act above the law that created it.
#FreeSowore #RevolutionNow #DaysOfRage
“The battle for the right of lawful assembly of citizens in any cause, conducted peacefully has been won legally, constitutionally, and even morally.”
The People’s Alternative Front also posited that Sowore has not committed any criminal offence by associating with other Nigerians to hold a peaceful rally.
PAF in a statement signed by its General Secretary, Eze Alloysius read, “Since Nigerians have the fundamental right to protest for and against any of the governments in the country Mr. Sowore has not committed any criminal offence by associating with other Nigerians to hold a peaceful rally against insecurity, unemployment, corruption, etc.
“After all, General Buhari had taken part in public protests against the rigging of the 2003 general election by the Olusegun administration and against insecurity in the country in 2014vunder the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
“Therefore, in demanding for the unconditional release of Mr. Sowore from illegal custody without any further delay we are compelled to urge President Buhari to call the heads of the security agencies to order.”
The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) Lagos State Branch also called for the immediate and unconditional release of Sowore adding that if his arrest is because of the planned protest, the government should have waited for wait till the day of the protest.
CDHR stated that a similar revolution by Nigerians led to the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as president in 2015.
Comrade Alex Omotehinse, State Chairman of CDHR said, “We must remind this Buhari Government that the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria as amended gives Sowore or any other Nigerian right to protest and freedom of expression with the right to lawful assembly.
“We need to remind Mr. Buhari what brought him to office maybe he must have forgotten so quickly that it was PEOPLES REVOLUTION from 2014 to 2015 that leads to his emergence as the president of Nigeria.
During the last administration led by his Excellency Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Nigerians protested against his government day and night but Jonathan never prevented nor arrested anybody for protesting against his government.
The President must be called to order by the National Assembly and he must know that this is a democratic government, not the military government.
This government has failed Nigerians, therefore, it deserves to be condemned, since returned to civil rule in 1999 Buhari regime has recorded the highest arrest of critics. Buhari government has failed in all ramifications, security of life and property is zero, we can no longer travel safely on our roads, killings everywhere and kidnapping in high rate Boko Haram insurgence are still killing our soldiers and innocent Nigerians in north and herdsmen are killing villagers Buhari and his DSS did not deem it fit to address that, but they are most concern about innocent citizen that are complaining.”