The Department of State Services (DSS) says it is ready to release Omoyele Sowore, convener of RevolutionNow Movement after outcry and condemnation over his continued detention across the world.
In a statement on Wednesday, Peter Afunanya, spokesman of the DSS, said operatives of the agency, did not open fire on protesters but prevented those who wanted to forcefully break into the agency to release Sowore.
“The DSS wishes to state that its operatives did not open fire on alleged protesters who had stormed its facility on 12th November, 2019,” he said.
“As a normal global security practice, the operatives stood in defence of their facility when some group of persons made unruly attempts to forcefully break into the place and effect the release of Omoloye SOWORE” Afunanya added.
He said, despite serial and unwarranted provocations, the Service, as a professional and responsible Organisation, did not shoot at the so called protesters. It could not have done so.
“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.”
Mr Sowore was arrested in Lagos on August 3 and subsequently flown to Abuja where he has been detained. A federal high court in Abuja had granted him bail but the activist is yet to regain freedom even after fulfilling his bail conditions.
A Protest at the DSS headquarters Tuesday over his arrest lead to attack of Journalists and protesters by security personnel.
Meanwhile, Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, says the Muhammadu Buhari administration has attained an “unprecedented level of paranoia” following the charges of treason filed against the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore.
He said, “This is utterly depressing news. So, the Sowore affair has moved beyond harassment and taken on a sinister direction. Outside the country where I happened to be engaged at the moment, I can testify that the immediate reaction around me was to dismiss this as yet another grotesque product of fake news, of which Nigerians have become the greatest practitioners. I confess that I also joined in this school of thought – at the start.
“Further checks have however confirmed that this government has indeed attained an unprecedented level of paranoia. I do not believe that the Justice department itself believes in these improbable charges, as formally publicised. So, once again, we inscribe in our annals another season of treasonable felony, History still guards some lessons we have yet to digest, much less from which to learn. Welcome to the Club, Mr. Omoyele Sowore.”
The Federal Government had on Friday filed seven counts of treasonable felony and money laundering against Sowore.
