DSS ‘Accuses’ Sowore Of Having Ties With IPOB, Boko Haram, Shiites
The Department of State Services (DSS) is said to have freshly grilled human rights activist Omoyele Sowore over alleged affinity with outlawed groups: Indigenous People of Biafra ( IPOB), Boko Haram terrorists and the principal Shiite movement in Nigeria, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Concise News understands.
As per Premium Times Nigeria, Sowore was questioned last week over purported ties to IPOB and other outlawed groups.
“Agents have been asking him to tell them about his relationship with Boko Haram, Islamic Movement of Nigeria and the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra,” a source revealed on Sunday.
“He has continued to deny any relationship with all these groups.”
This development comes a week after the media owner was once more seized from the court arena by the DSS.
Premium Times said Peter Afunanya, spokesperson for the DSS, did not return their calls and messages seeking comments on the scooped recent interrogation of Sowore.
In July, Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed IPOB and Sowore, who was then a candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2019 general elections met in New York, USA to strategize on what they describe as injustice in Nigeria.
The duo made their position known in New York after a series of closed-door meetings.
In April 2018, Shi’ites appointed Sowore patron of the Free Zakzaky Movement.
Then, Sowore met with supporters of Zakzaky who bestowed upon him “Sarkin Yaki Free Zak-Zaky”.
He revealed to the group that he was on the phone with IMN leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky’s wife (Zeenah Ibrahim) during the “brutal assault” on the Shiite community in Zaria.
The Federal Government of Nigeria had filed a seven-count bordering on treasonable felony and money laundering against Sowore in September, 2019.
Sowore who has been very critical of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, called for a series of planned protests against bad governance in the country in August, tagged #RevolutionNow.
Spokesman of the commission, Afunaya, said that the DSS acted within its constitutional powers to arrest and detain the activist for threatening the unity and peaceful co-existence of Nigeria.
Afunaya added that the call for revolution poses a national security threat.
The DSS filed an application at the Abuja division of the Federal High Court, to detain Sowore for 90 days, pending the conclusion of its investigation.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo however granted the DSS, 45 days to detain Sowore, informing the security agency that they can return to court to ask for more days.
Meanwhile, Sowore challenged the court order in an application on the premise that it breached the fundamental rights provision of the 1999 constitution, after being in detention illegally for an initial four days before the ex-parte order was granted.
The Federal Government finally filed a seven-count bordering on treasonable felony and money laundering against Sowore and Olawale Bakare, also known as mandate, a day before the expiration of the detention order on September 21.
The prosecution accused Sowore and his co-defendant of conspiracy to commit treasonable felony in breach of section 516 of the Criminal Code Act by allegedly staging “a revolution campaign on September 5, 2019 aimed at removing the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
The prosecution is also accusing them of committing the actual offence of reasonable felony in breach of section, 4(1)(c) of the Criminal Code Act, by using the platform of Coalition for Revolution, in August 2019 in Abuja, Lagos and other parts of Nigeria, to stage the #RevolutionNow protest allegedly aimed at removing the President.
The government further accuses Sowore of cybercrime offences in violation of section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention) Act, by “knowingly” sending “messages by means of press interview granted on Arise Television network which you knew to be false for the purpose of causing insult, enmity, hatred and ill-will on the person of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The Federal Government, through the DSS requested to detain Sowore for another 20 days after the expiration of the 45 days initially granted.
After listening to arguments from the prosecution and defense counsels, Justice Taiwo said there was no order detaining Sowore and he should be released with some conditions which included; depositing all travel documents and he should be produced whenever the court needs him.
According to Counsel to Sowore, Femi Falana SAN, despite meeting the bail conditions, his client was yet to be released. This prompted the defense counsel to file a contempt suit against the Director-General of the Department of State Service, (DSS) Yusuf Bichi, for allegedly disobeying a court order granting him bail.
The DSS however denied claims that the service refused to obey the court order, but stated that counsel to Sowore was yet to perfect the conditions for his release.
After pleading ‘Not Guilty’ to all the seven charges read in court in September 30, Sowore and Bakare were remanded in the custody of the DSS pending the hearing of their bail application.
In October, at the resumed hearing of their bail application, Sowore was granted bail in the sum N100 million and two sureties in like sum, while Bakare got bail in the sum of N50 million and a surety in like sum.
Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu noted that they must both deposit their travel documents with the court and stay within Abuja.
Where there is a violation of the bail conditions, the judge threatened that the court would not fail to revoke the bail.
However, counsel to Sowore filed a motion seeking a variation in the bail conditions, stating that the bail conditions were not met 17 days after the court had issued the order, due to the stringency of the conditions.
The trial judge, after listening to the arguments, varied the bail conditions regarding the payments of N50 million bail security by the sureties.
Justice Ojukwu also reduced the bail bond for Bakare to N20 million and one surety in like sum.
Sowore’s Trial
The trial of Sowore began in November after meeting the bail conditions.
Counsel to Sowore stated that his clients would be freed soon, despite the refusal of the DSS to grant them access to the defendants.
The DSS, through its spokesperson Peter Afunaya, however denied knowledge that the defendants had perfected the bail conditions.
He confirmed the receipt of a court order for the release of Sowore, but stressed that no person has turned up to take delivery of him.
This prompted Sowore’s legal team along with family members to visit the Headquarters of the Service to receive the convener of #RevolutionNow protest.
Marshal Abubakar said after putting calls across to some high-ranking DSS officials, they were told to wait as the persons who could authorise Sowore’s release were unavailable.
The DSS, after the visit of Sowore’s legal team, still insisted that it is ready to release him, but the appropriate persons have not turned up to get him.
“For emphasis, the Service reiterates its avowed readiness to release SOWORE once the processes are concluded. It maintains that the appropriate persons have still not turned up to take delivery of SOWORE,” the DSS said in a statement by its spokesperson, Afunanya.
The DSS argued in its statement on Wednesday that those who have so far shown up are not directly concerned with the matter and, therefore, unqualified.
Afterwards, Afunaya posited that only the persons who stood as sureties for Sowore can secure his release from the DSS custody.
Sowore and his co-detainee, Bakare each filed a suit of N500 million in damages against the DG DSS and the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, following their continued detention in DSS custody.
According to the suits, the arrest and physical assault of the duo by operatives of the DSS in Lagos and Osogbo on August 2 and 5, as well as their continued illegal detention by the security agency, constituted a violation of their rights.
Meanwhile, a Federal High Court in Abuja threatened to jail the DG of the DSS, Yusuf Bichi over the continued detention of the defendants.
Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu warned that unless the DSS Director-General obeyed the order of the Federal High Court ordering him to release the defendants, he would be guilty of contempt of court and will be liable to be committed to prison.
At this point, the defendants had been granted bail twice, but were yet to be released by the DSS.
24-Hour Ultimatum, Release And Rearrest
In December, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the DSS to release the defendants within the next 24 hours.
Justice Ojukwu stressed that the DSS had no justifiable reason to continue to hold the defendants in custody, after she signed the warrants for the release of the defendants from custody.
She said the matter would not continue.
The DSS later released both defendants at around 7:15 pm to their counsel on the same day the order was given by Justice Ojukwu.
Barely 24 hours after their release, the DSS stormed the premises of a Federal High Court. In an attempt to rearrest Sowore, had a confrontation with his supporters in the courtroom.
Sowore alleged that the DSS threatened to kill him after his release, stressing that he was told that he will not walk out of their detention alive.
After some time, his counsel, Femi Falana, insisted that the arrest will not be carried out in the court premises, while urging all operatives of the DSS to step outside the court, where Sowore was later accompanied by Falana to the DSS office in Abuja. There, he was arrested and eventually detained.
In his reaction, Falana criticised the DSS for rearresting Sowore barely 24 hours after their release, stressing that they were only invited for questioning.
Meanwhile the DSS stated that Sowore was taken into custody for allegedly resorting to call for violence, a forceful takeover of government and suspected transnational illegal activities.
In a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Afunanya, the agency stressed that Sowore is facing trial, not as an activist, journalist or politician .
On why he was rearrested, the DSS alleged that Sowore resorted to “acts inimical to security” shortly after being released from its custody.
It added that only Sowore was rearrested while his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare, was not picked up by its operatives.
Falana accused the Federal Government of resorting to media trial, stressing that it is embarrassing that it is yet to prove its case in a competent court of law.
Furthermore, this week, Falana asked the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), to secure the release of his client from the custody of the DSS.