Femi FalanaA Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has described the manner in which the publisher of SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore was re-arrested in a court room today, December 6 after he was released yesterday, December 5 as extremely embarrassing.
Falana, who reacted to the incident said: “as soon as the court adjourned the matter to February next year, the SSS (State Security Service) operatives pounced on the court, disrupted proceeding and then attempted to arrest our clients even in the web of the court, that was extremely embarrassing because it has never happened in Nigeria where you enter a court to arrest anybody, even an alleged coup plotter.”
Sowore and Bakare who were released at about 7:15 pm yesterday, December 5 are facing seven counts bordering on conspiracy to commit treasonable felony, money laundering and cybercrimes, amongst others.
They were arrested on August 3, days before a planned #RevolutionNow protest against what they called “bad governance” in the country.
Falana who spoke to Channels Television today stressed that the DSS (Department of State Service) had said they were inviting the duo for questioning at their office to answer a few questions on fresh charges, but are yet to disclose what they are.
“The atmosphere was very rowdy, but I insisted that the arrest could not be carried out within the precinct of the court. He was going to be arrested outside the premises but there was a crowd that resisted the arrest, but I appealed to everybody and asked Sowore to jump into my car and so we drove to the office of the SSS because they said he will just answer a few questions, but now he is being detained.
“We are going to take steps under the law by asking for his release again since they are claiming this is a fresh arrest.
“Nobody has disclosed yet what his charges are; he couldn’t have committed any other offence because he has been detained for the past four months unless the SSS wants to tell the whole world that he committed this fresh offence while in their custody.”
