Wife of Omoyele Sowore, the convener of the RevolutionNow protest and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Mrs Ope Sowore, has sent a message to President Muhammadu Buhari that she and her children are waiting for the return of her husband.

She said she had no clear roadmap on how to handle the situation but that she had sent appeals to the United Nations and had been working with Amnesty International and many other organisations to help raise awareness and “hopefully help to secure the release” of her husband.

Officials of the Department of State Services had on Friday invaded the Federal High Court in Abuja to rearrest Sowore, who was released alongside his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare, on Thursday after they had spent over three months in the DSS custody.

The DSS had also defied the court order that granted them bail, even after meeting their bail conditions and in spite of several appeals and protests to secure their release.

Sowore was arrested on August 3, 2019 over a planned protest, which he tagged ‘RevolutionNow’. The DSS accused him of planning to overthrow the government with his planned protest, the basis upon which he had been detained.

Meanwhile, less than 24 hours after they were released, Sowore was rearrested by about 15 DSS officials after the close of Friday’s proceedings, which the judge, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, had adjourned till February 11.

Before the fresh arrest, a stampede occurred as Sowore and his supporters tried to resist the officials of the DSS. The ensued commotion made court officials, lawyers, journalists and others to run for safety. The development disrupted the proceedings, which Justice Ojukwu was conducting after Sowore’s case was adjourned.

The judge was therefore forced to suspend sitting, directing that the remaining cases on her list for the day be adjourned.

Speaking to one of our correspondents on the telephone on Friday, Sowore’s wife said, “I’m concerned about what happened to my husband. It’s less than 24 hours that the Nigerian government has basically turned around and shown a gross abuse of power. I am praying and hoping that it will be resolved so that he can come home to meet me and the children.

“No clear roadmap or script on how to handle a situation like this. The reason why there is rule of law is because it protects people’s basic rights and the fact that Buhari and the DSS have refused to do that is a matter of great concern.

“We are currently working with many international organisations to help advocate on his behalf and we have sent several urgent appeals to the United Nations.”

I can’t eat, sleep, Sowore’s mother laments

Sowore’s mother, Esther, expressed shock over the rearrest of her son on Friday, adding that her son’s continuous stay in the custody of the DSS had affected her health.

Speaking during an interview with the CNN on Friday, she said, “I cannot eat. I cannot sleep. It is affecting my health. It has been four months now. I plead with Buhari again in Allah’s name, I plead with him to release my son.”

Source:Punch

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