The Department of State Services (DSS) has said the Convener of #RevolutionNow, Omoyele Sowore, who is still in their custody, has been making calls to mobilise people for violence and take action against Nigeria.
DSS spokesman Dr Peter Afunanya, who addressed reporters on Tuesday in Abuja, said though they had received the court order that Sowore be released, they could not just let him go without proper documentation to appropriate sureties.
Afunanya also said Sowore’s lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), had not been to the DSS office or in touch with the service since the bail matter started.
The spokesman alleged that personnel of the service had also received death threats from various quarters over Sowore’s detention.
“There is nothing that Sowore needs that we do not provide him. He has been using his phone and making contacts and even using it to mobilise people and call for violence and call for action against the Nigerian state and call for destruction of the Nigerian entity.
“When you throw a stone into the market place, you sure would not know on whose head it would land. Sowore has family members in Nigeria who go to local markets; he has relatives; he has uncles and sisters. If you set a fire, of course, you may not know who will get burnt,” Afunanya said.
He said DSS could not have released Sowore to the protesters, led by Deji Adeyanju, who were at its headquarters last week because they were not the right people to receive the detainee.
“The stand of the Director General (Yusuf Bichi) and the stand of the service is not ambiguous about respect for justice, for rule of law and for human rights. There is no division, no doubt that in unison. The entire workers of the service would always pursue what is good for Nigeria and what is good for its unity and progress and stability.
“We have to carry out our duties and will continue to do so in honour and good conscience, despite deliberate efforts to harass and intimidate us. The issue of human rights in the last one week, the custody of suspects and all of that have been in the front burner.
“We have issued statements in the past week and the statements have been unambiguous. They were straight, direct and plain. At all times, we were explaining our stance on issues, that he was granted bail by the courts. We said yes, we have received the court order. Now, every legislative enactment and judicial pronouncement needs to be enforced. They need to be enforced, and that is why there are law enforcement agencies’ operatives.
“If Sowore was granted bail and was in our custody and we told him that he had been granted bail, now do we bring Sowore to the gate and ask him to go? Is it a discharge of responsibility that we do that? What if Sowore was going on the road and was knocked down by a car? We said people who should take Sowore through proper documentation had not come and up till now they have not come…”