Sowore Asserts: Nigeria’s Judiciary Didn’t Free Me; I Upheld Convictions for Freedom

A pro-democracy activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, has announced on Friday, that the judiciary did not free him from the violations of his fundamental human rights; instead, he bought his freedom by refusing to renounce his conviction.

Mr Sowore, who was charged with a treasonable felony by the immediate past administration of Muhammadu Buhari, was absolved of all charges after the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, filed a letter of discontinuance on 15 February.

“It’s not the Judiciary that let me go… I told the judge that he should dismiss the case, that it was a useless case, but the judge gave an adjournment to April 15, so it was not the Judiciary that let me go, it’s because I have bought my freedom by refusing to back down,” he said.

He lamented how the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the umbrella body of lawyers, never made any commitment towards his release from his unlawful incarceration for five months by the Department of State Services (DSS) and his unceremonious abduction in the presence of a judge in court, and the judge did nothing but continued with the case despite the enormous charges brought against him.

He said that while the NBA did nothing, their American counterpart was attending court sessions and writing to the government, stating that he did not do anything wrong.

The government could not break me.

Mr Sowore spoke about his ordeal after the charges against him were dropped during the Channels Television program ‘Politics Today’. He stated that the administration of Buhari did everything to break him during the five-year trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

He alleged that the administration wanted to secure a conviction without a trial, which necessitated the prolonged duration of the trial since they had no evidence against him.

He explained how those in government at the time of his incarceration brought forth many unfathomable temptations because of their desire to weaken him. Despite the pain they brought to his family, they failed.

“I want to say clearly that I wasn’t freed; I freed myself by ensuring that the government didn’t break me. But the truth is what they wanted was a conviction without a trial, and they didn’t get that. They restricted me to Nigeria for five years, seized my passport, and ensured that my regular life was disrupted to a large extent.

“It affected my family immensely; during that period, a brother of mine was murdered under unknown circumstances on the Ore-Benin Express Road, and my mom had a stroke over the issue, and she’s still down.

“Within this period, they broke my nose, shot at me with a federal riot gun, and in 2019, the DSS abducted me in front of a judge. If that is not punishment, then what is punishment? But I did not break, and I didn’t let them break me, and that is the only good news I have for all of you. But there’s nothing that wasn’t expected; we knew that this could happen. But those in government at that time, led by Buhari, could do everything to shut down anyone who was opposed to that heinous regime and the political party in power at that time, which has continued till today,” he said.

The revolution we are asking for is to end the unjust treatment of our people.

Mr Sowore stated that he would continue with his #Revolutionnow campaign despite his ordeal at the hands of security personnel in Nigeria.

He mentioned that people who were against him when he started the campaign are now calling for a revolution because they have begun to understand the ideology.

He noted that anyone advocating for the reintroduction of a parliamentary system of government, favouring a unicameral legislature over a bicameral one, or advocating for a restructuring of the system is essentially calling for a revolution.

However, he clarified that his idea of revolution is to put an end to unjust, unfair, and the killing of Nigerians.

He mentioned that despite persuasion to renounce his beliefs by the previous administration, he never accepted it, which led to his five months of imprisonment.

“It’s no longer just a campaign; a revolution has become a reality now. Even those who were opposing me in 2019 are now calling for a revolution.

“Anybody asking for a parliamentary system of government somehow desires a change from a bicameral to a unicameral system or a restructuring, which ultimately calls for a revolution.

“The revolution I am asking for aims to end a system that is unjust, unfair, and killing our people; I have been very clear about that.

“I am not abandoning the campaign; it’s the reason why I didn’t negotiate with anybody on this matter. Two weeks into my detention, a delegation from Isa Funtua and Garba Shehu asked me to apologize to President Muhammadu Buhari, and they would let me go. I chose to remain in detention until five months later when I was granted bail and restricted to Abuja because there were no negotiations,” he noted.

Nigeria has civil rule, but it’s not yet a democracy.

The pro-democracy activist stated that, currently, Nigeria is not a democratic nation despite having a Constitution and other existing laws because it was not crafted by the people.

He lamented how Nigeria can be a democratic nation when there have never been credible elections from the ward to the federal level.

He further explained that the human rights of Nigerians are being violated daily, which doesn’t align with a democracy.

He added that the 1999 Constitution was formulated and handed to Nigerians by military personnel, which doesn’t truly represent the people.

“This is not a democracy; I don’t think you should be saying that. Any system that cannot ensure credible elections is not a democracy.

“Any system that cannot guarantee citizens’ fundamental rights is not a democracy. We don’t have a Constitution; what we have, imposed on Nigerians in 1999, is not a Constitution; it’s a military decree.

“A Constitution must be endorsed by the people; that’s why you have a preamble to every Constitution with the phrase ‘We the people,’ but what was created in 1999 was enforced by a decree, so we don’t have a Constitution,” he clarified.