Ezekwesili Speaks On Re-arrest Of Sowore By DSS
Former Minister of Education Oby Ezekwesili has condemned the re-arrest of the convener of the #RevolutionNow Movement, Omoyele Sowore.
Concise News had reported that the Department of State Service (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.
While reacting to the re-arrest of the duo, Ezekwesili in a statement on Friday described the incident as an aggression against the Judiciary by the Executive arm of President Muhammadu Buhari.
She wrote: “President @MBuhari, the whole world is watching the video of officials of the State Security Service which you directly supervise, brutally violate the constitutional rights of a citizen @YeleSowore inside a court and desecrated our Judiciary- an independent arm of government.
“Let it also be known by @MBuhari that the cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary use of the power he wields today as @NGRPresident is alien to our Nigerian Constitution and International Law.
“I advise the President to cease this descent to fascism immediately and #RespectCourtOrder.
“It is in the interest of @MBuhari that @YeleSowore comes to no form of bodily, mental or emotional harm.
“As the supervisor of the State Security Service, I demand that the President instructs the DG to immediately comply with the court order. Release Sowore immediately.
“I have just spoken to the incredible Femi Falana — SAN whose amazing and highly effective legal representation of citizen @YeleSowore with a strong team of lawyers is the silver lining in this tragic case. I once again conveyed our abiding strong support and gratitude.
“I urge my fellow citizens who are reasonable enough to know that today’s episode amounts to full aggression against the Judiciary by the Executive arm of @MBuhari and portends an extremely dangerous development. We must all stand to defend our hard-won Democracy. We must.”
President @MBuhari , the whole world is watching the video of officials of the State Security Service which you directly supervise, brutally violate the constitutional rights of a citizen @YeleSowore inside a court and desecrated our Judiciary- an independent arm of government. https://t.co/OkzyISS7Ae
— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) December 6, 2019
It is in the interest of @MBuhari that @YeleSowore comes to no form of bodily, mental or emotional harm.
As the supervisor of the State Security Service, I demand that the President instructs the DG to immediately comply with the court order . Release Sowore immediately.
— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) December 6, 2019
