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CDHR seeks DSS disbandment as NCP tasks FG on alleged Sowore’s harassment

By Sunday Aikulola (Lagos) and John Akubo, Abuja
09 December 2019   |   3:31 am
The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) at the weekend called for the disbandment of the Department of State Services (DSS)Speaking in Lagos at an event to mark the adoption of the Charter on UN Declaration of Human Rights..

The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) at the weekend called for the disbandment of the Department of State Services (DSS)Speaking in Lagos at an event to mark the adoption of the Charter on UN Declaration of Human Rights, its national president, Comrade Obayuwana Osagie, expressed concern over the handling of activist Omoyele Sowore by operatives of the agency at an Abuja Federal Court last week.

He said: “Clearly, the DSS does not know how serious democracy, human rights and good governance are in Nigeria otherwise they should not make jokes about such things. We therefore ask that the organisation should be disbanded.”Osagie added that “Sowore should be freed immediately. We have seen that the Federal Government is shying away from the hearing. They do not have a case against him.”

Also speaking, rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) stated that “what happened in court last week has never happened before. There is no way they would have taken Sowore away, as it would have been so bloody.”He alleged: “We discovered that the government brought miscreants to demonstrate against Sowore, but there was a crowd of young people and women. Some of the women were half-naked and were ready to demonstrate against the monstrosity that was taking place

“We have seen him (Sowore) brutalised physically in the court, and members of the legal team had to quickly meet and resolve that if we left him at that place, he may be killed or since the DSS said a truck may run over him, we didn’t want that to happen. So, we agreed that I should take him to the DSS headquarters. I asked him to get into my car which he did.

On our way, as soon as we got to the Federal Secretariat, the DSS surrounded us, disrupted traffic and said I must transfer him to their vehicle and I said you either kill him or kill me here, and I will not take that risk because you are masked, you might be kidnappers and I will not transfer him.”

Falana insisted that “what Sowore demanded for was a warrant of arrest and they couldn’t produce it and that was when he resisted their arrest. So we have to get prepared to defend our rights.”Besides, Prof. Akin Oyebode, who was the guest speaker, also condemned the development.

In the same vein, the national chairman of National Conscience Party (NCP), Dr. Yunusa Tanko, has asked the Federal Government to come out clean on the incident. He was reacting yesterday in Abuja to the viral video on the social media where Sowore was allegedly harassed by the secret police in court.Tanko said “that type of impunity whereby the temple of justice is being desecrated needs to be checkmated as quickly as possible.”

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