Why Sowore Was Rearrested By DSS – Femi Falana

Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), says his client Omoyele Sowore and ally, Olawale Bakare, were rearrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) in order to question them over a yet to be named charge.

YaahooJournalist recalls that the DSS released Sowore on Thursday night after spending 124 days in detention.

The release followed a court ruling ordering DSS to release him in the next 24 hours.

However, the secret police on Friday morning re-arrested Sowore in the premises of the Federal High court, Abuja and reportedly took the activist to the DSS headquarters.

Falana, who is the lawyer to Sowore and Bakare, said the DSS rearrested the duo in order to question them over a yet to be named charge.

His words: “This morning, the SSS lawyers and the lawyers of the Attorney-General reported to the court that the order of the court had been complied with and I confirmed because our clients were released last night.

“As soon as the court adjourned the matter to February next year, the SSS operatives pounced on the court, disrupted proceeding and then attempted to arrest our clients even in the web of the court, that was extremely embarrassing because it has never happened in Nigeria where you enter a court to arrest anybody, even an alleged coup plotter.

“The atmosphere was very rowdy, but I insisted that the arrest could not be carried out within the precinct of the court.

“He was going to be arrested outside the premises but there was a crowd that resisted the arrest, but I appealed to everybody and asked Sowore to jump into my car and so we drove to the office of the SSS because they said he will just answer a few questions, but now he is being detained.

“We are going to take steps under the law by asking for his release again since they are claiming this is a fresh arrest.

“Nobody has disclosed yet what his charges are; he couldn’t have committed any other offence because he has been detained for the past four months unless the SSS wants to tell the whole world that he committed this fresh offence while in their custody.”