NNPP chieftain advises FG against Sowore arrest

A chieftain of New Nigeria People’s Party, (NNPP), Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo has advised the administration of President Bola Tinubu not to arrest the publisher of Sahara Reporters online newspaper, Omoyele Sowore, whenever he arrives in the country over his role in the recent #EndBadGovernance protests.

Ajadi dropped the advice on Thursday after some reports claimed that the new Director General of DSS has instructed the security operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos to be on the lookout for Sowore and pick him up anytime he arrives in the country.

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Ajadi, however, noted that such alleged directive is not in consonant with democratic rule that Nigeria is currently operating.

He warned that the Tinubu administration should not drag the country back to the dark days of the military when people were picked up by security agencies at the whim and caprices of the government.

He also advised the DSS to tread with caution in case Sowore’s supporters are at the airport to welcome him, there might be confrontations trying to arrest him in the midst of his followers.

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Ajadi said: “Let me warn you that Sowore should not be arrested for being one of the organisers of the recent #endbadgovernance protest that took place across the country.

“Peaceful protest is a legitimate right of citizens in a democratic government. There is the provision for the right or freedom to express opinions in our constitution. Making one’s view known against perceived bad governance is not an offence in democracy.

“I would like to remind our President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his administration that the elementary definition of democracy says, ‘it is the government of the people by the people and for the people’. People are at the centre of government in a democracy. Government must be accountable to the people.

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“Sowore has not done anything to warrant arrest more especially that he was not in the country and cannot be linked to any violent act during the protests.

“President Tinubu should remember that Sowore is also a leader, former presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC) in the last general election and a foremost human right activist as well as an opinion leader. So he should not be molested or arrested at the Airport like a criminal.

“Even, assuming Sowore’s supporters and followers are at the Airport to welcome him, how will it be possible to arrest him in the midst of his people without causing commotion, so the DSS should tread with caution.

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“The DSS should also note that we are in democracy and there are rules of law. Anybody found to have violated the law can be charged to court and not to be waylaid at the airport. We should not turn our country into a laughing stock among the committee of nations.

“The Federal Government should allow people to express their grievances whenever they feel the government is not doing as expected, although peacefully without destruction of public property,“ Ajadi who was the NNPP gubernatorial candidate in Ogun state during the 2023 general election stated.