“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 far away New York – and who can easily disappear and leave behind whatever instability he intends to cause, to wit, Nnamdi Kanu.”Senior Special Assistant to the President on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement today, December 8, recounted the ugly scenes Boko Haram, Herdsmen, Niger Delta militants and others have caused the country, saying that Omoyele Sowore, publisher of SaharaReporters should be allowed to face the Directorate of State Security (DSS) in accordance with its powers.
Garba Shehu said that the country is already dealing with an insurgency that has left millions of people displaced and desperate in the northeastern region of the country.
“The Boko Haram militants, who are behind the violence, also fancy themselves to be fighting for some sort of revolution.”
He argued that 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.
He said that through his actions and words, Sowore had made himself a person of interest to the DSS, recalling that he recently called for a revolution to overthrow the democratically elected government of Nigeria.
“He 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.
“Sowore is no 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.”
Garba Shehu stressed 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.
“To believe in and desire 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.”
