Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer, has dared the Nigerian government and security operatives to charge Omoyele Sowore, the convener of the #RevolutionNow Protest, to court.
Sowore, who was the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, in the 2019 Presidential Election, was arrested on Saturday by Department of State Services, DSS.
The DSS accused the convener of #RevolutionNow movement, of threatening public peace and safety with the nationwide protest which he organized.
Speaking at the launch of ‘Why Not?’, a book by Professor Pat Utomi on Tuesday, August 6, 2019, the senior advocate of Nigeria said he had talked to Sowore in detention, adding that it will be a mistake if the Nigerian government is to charge his client just because he used the term ‘Revolution’.
Falana went on to explain that in the case Sowore would be charged, his first witness would be someone in government who in 2011 also called for a revolution, a statement which many believe is referring to President Muhammadu Buhari who in 2011 was the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC.
“I do hope that the government will not be stupid to charge Sowore. In fairness to them (DSS), they gave him a telephone to phone me. Of course I knew they were monitoring the phone, and I told him I hope they won’t charge you, because if they do, some of the people in government will be our witnesses.
“You know why? One of them, I won’t mention his name. In 2011, he asked Nigerians to learn from the Egyptian revolution and be ready for a revolution in Nigeria. So, he will be my first witness.
“The late Chief Gani Fawehinmi and four other people were charged with treasonable felony by the Ibrahim Babangida junta. I was one of them. We were detained in Kuje Prison for two months. We were taken to the court, and what was the offence? I think we went beyond Sowore. We posted thousands of posters across the country, that Babangida must go. That was the treasonable felony,” Falana said.
