What SERAP Said About Re-arrest Of Sowore By DSS In Courtroom

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has strongly condemned the violent re-arrest of Omoyele Sowore and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare by officials of the Department of State Security (DSS).

Also, the advocacy group berated the apparent harassment and intimidation of Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court on Friday.

Concise News had reported that the DSS forcefully took the activist to its headquarters in Abuja after the agency tried to rearrest him in court on Friday.

Also, the DSS chased away the presiding judge, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu and brutalised a reporter with a renowned television station.

Sowore and his co-defendant Olawale Bakare were released by the DSS on Thursday evening after the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered his release within 24 hours, about four months after he was arrested.

Reacting to the re-arrest of the duo, SERAP in a statement on Friday by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare condemned the invasion of the courtroom by the secret police.

SERAP’s statement read in part: “The appalling invasion of the courtroom and the ill-treatment of Sowore and Bakare is a blatant attack on the rule of law and the sanctity and integrity of our justice system. An independent judiciary, free from intimidation and harassment is a basic precondition to a functioning democracy under the rule of law.”

“The violent re-arrest of Sowore and Bakare right inside the courtroom is a textbook case of a mockery of justice and abuse of the judicial process. It drives home the failure of the Nigerian government to fulfill its constitutional and international human rights obligations to respect citizens’ human rights and observe the rule of law.

“What happened in the courtroom is a fatal blow to human rights and the independence and integrity of the judiciary. SERAP is seriously concerned that the Government of President Muhammadu Buhari is not observing fundamental international human rights and due process standards.

“We urge the Nigerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Sowore and Bakare and end the fragrant attack on the rule of law. “If Nigerian authorities are serious about human rights and the rule of law, they should hold those responsible to account. Only then will Nigerians have full confidence in this government’s ability to protect their human rights, obey the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.

“The United Nations Human Rights Council, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and members of the international community should urgently put pressure on the Nigerian authorities to end serious violations and abuses of human rights and threats to the rule of law in Nigeria.”