The Federal Government has perfected plans to re-arraign Sahara Reporters publisher and convener of #RevolutionNow protests, Omoyele Sowore, before another Federal High Court Judge in Abuja on Monday, Starnews has learnt.
The government is arraigning him on seven counts of treasonable felony, money laundering and cybercrimes which was instituted against him by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Starnews reports that the Department of State Service, (DSS), had filed a seven count charge bordering on treasonable felony and money laundering against Sowore, who was the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the February 23 presidential election.
Sowore was further accused 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 he 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.”
But Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court had last Tuesday ordered the release of Sowore, who has been in the DSS custody since August 2, this year, when he was arrested in Lagos by the Service.
While ordering his release, Justice Taiwo noted that the detention order he issued to the DSS on August 8 expired last Saturday, September 21. The Judge had observed that he took cognizance of the fact that the DSS initially filed an ex-parte motion for extension of the detention order for another 20 days, but later withdrew the application through its lawyer, Godwin Abadua, and it was accordingly struck out.
The court held that the application having been struck out, there was nothing before the court to warrant Sowore’s continued stay in detention, noting: “The constitutional right to liberty of the high and the low, as well as the poor and the rich is guaranteed under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“I am of the view that the Respondent ought to be released forthwith in view of the fact that there is no extant order of this court for his continued detention, ” the court ruled.
However, the DSS has continued to hold Sowore in detention despite meeting the bail condition on September 25, 2019. Sowore was not released by the DSS even as at the time of writing this report.
In a Punch report on Sunday morning, it was confirmed that the case would again be re-instituted against Sowore and has already been assigned to Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, who has subsequently fixed Monday for arraignment, Starnews can report.
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