<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rather than direct immediate compliance with a federal\ncourt order that freed Omoyele Sowore on bail, President Muhammadu Buhari has\ninstead been sending emissaries to the activist to extract commitment from him\nto back down on the \u2018revolution now\u2019 protest as a precondition for his release. Rather than direct immediate compliance with a federal court order that freed Omoyele Sowore on bail, President Muhammadu Buhari has instead been sending emissaries to the activist to extract commitment from him to back down on the \u2018revolution now\u2019 protest as a precondition for his release. In at least two attempts now confirmed by PREMIUM […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[14,10],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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\nIn at least two attempts now confirmed by PREMIUM TIMES, the\npresident\u2019s emissaries visited Mr. Sowore where he is being illegally held at\nthe State Security Service Headquarters to \u201cnegotiate for peace\u201d in return for\nhis freedom.
\n
\nThe Sahara Reporters\u2019 publisher, however, rejected both attempts as\nextra-judicial and self-serving, saying he would not take part in any\narrangement that would essentially lend legitimacy to unwarranted abuse of his\nfundamental rights and brazen disregard of judicial authority, people briefed\non the matter told PREMIUM TIMES.
\n
\nThe development appeared the strongest indication yet that Mr. Buhari\nis aware of the continued detention of Mr. Sowore in defiance of multiple court\norders.
\n
\nThose who took part in the botched negotiation included Isa Funtua, a\nclose political associate of the president; Sam Amuka, publisher of Vanguard\nNewspapers; Nduka Ogbaigbena, publisher of Thursday Newspapers and presidential\nspokespersons, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu.
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\n\u2018Infuriating\ndialogue\u2019<\/strong>
\nMr. Sowore was arrested on August 3 for leading #Revolution Now\ncampaign \u2014 a series of nationwide protests he had planned with other activists\nto demand a better Nigeria.
\n
\nHe was first granted bail by a federal judge in September, but the SSS\ndid not comply and instead took him before another judge to file duplicated\ncharges against him. The second judge granted him bail under stringent\nconditions in October, which he eventually satisfied on November 6.
\n
\nBoth court orders were ignored and Mr. Sowore remained in illegal\ncustody of the SSS, a Nigerian domestic intelligence outfit under direct and\nabsolute control of the president.
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\nAs calls mounted on the Nigerian government to respect Mr. Sowore\u2019s\nrights and obey court orders for his release, Mr. Buhari hastily arranged a\nteam to pressure the activist into an agreement that would see him abandon his\n#Revolution Now campaign before he could be freed.
\n
\nThe first team included Messrs Funtua, Amuka, Shehu and Obaigbena,\nsources said.
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\n\u201cThe first meeting took place in the office of SSS director of\noperations, \u201d a source told PREMIUM TIMES. \u201cThe group met Mr Sowore and said\nthey came on behalf of the president to negotiate for peace.\u201d
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\nBut Mr Sowore, a former student union activist who confronted military\nregimes and suffered attacks and persecution for it, \u201crefused openly,\u201d saying\n\u201call he wants is justice.\u201d
\n
\nMr Sowore insisted he would not compromise his demand for a new\nNigeria that works for all citizens, a defiance that shocked those present at\nthe meeting, including Mr Shehu who led the team, another source said.
\n
\nPREMIUM TIMES learnt that members of the delegation were \u201cinfuriated\u201d\nby Mr Sowore\u2019s \u201crefusal to dialogue\u201d with them under the conditions outlined.
\n
\nMr Sowore\u2019s firm repudiation of the president\u2019s delegation also\nangered Yusuf Bichi, the head of the SSS, who subsequently ordered his\ncontinued detention while making him incommunicado.
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\nMr Sowore had threatened to inform his lawyer, Femi Falana, of Mr\nBuhari\u2019s moves, leading the SSS chief to deprive him of all forms of contact\nwith anyone outside the facility.
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\nContacted by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Obaigbena denied ever being part of the\ndelegation that met Mr Sowore.
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\nBut another member of the team, Mr Funtua, said, \u201cI went to meet him\n(Sowore) with Sam Amuka, Nduka Obaigbena and some others. We were there for two\nhours to discuss with him that there was no need to be grandstanding with his\nlawyers.\u201d
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\nWhen asked to comment on SSS continued defiance of court order over Mr\nSowore, Mr Funtua said he was aware of it, but that the state has nothing to\nlose.
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\n\u201cYou cannot fight the government. You cannot fight the establishment.\nYou cannot do anything to the establishment. But for an individual it is a\ndifferent case and we do not want anyone to suffer for too long, that is why we\nare trying to find a solution to the matter.\u201d
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\nAnother fruitless attempt was made to get Mr Sowore to back down on\nhis agitation earlier this month while the president was vacationing in London,\nsources said.
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\n\u201cThis one was led by Femi Adesina,\u201d the source said. \u201cAgain, he\nrefused to even see Mr Adesina, saying he cannot negotiate with them under any\ncircumstances, especially since he has been granted bail.\u201d
\n
\nTo further punish him for rejecting yet another presidential delegation,\nMr Sowore was denied access to his letters and rarely allowed to take fresh\nair.
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\nThe restrictions were later briefly relaxed and Mr Sowore was able to\nspeak with PREMIUM TIMES from custody on November 14. The phone with which he\nspoke with this newspaper was immediately seized even though it was given to\nhim by the SSS which discreetly monitored his communications.
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\nShedding dilemma<\/strong>
\nMessrs Adesina, Shehu and Obaigbena did not return messages seeking\ncomments from PREMIUM TIMES Friday morning.
\n
\nPeter Afunanya, chief spokesperson for the SSS, also declined comments\nabout the botched negotiation.
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\nThe previously unknown but concerted attempts to talk Mr Sowore out of\n#RevolutionNow campaign underscored not just the suffering of the Nigerian\nactivist but the dilemma his illegal detention and remarkable display of\ncourage have placed on the Nigerian government, said legal analyst Helen Okeka.
\n
\n\u201cThe government is obviously having a sleepless night on this matter,\u201d\nMs Okeka told PREMIUM TIMES Friday morning. \u201cIt is not easy to attain a\nreputation of lawlessness, especially blatant and unprecedented disregard of\ncourt order.\u201d
\n
\nMrs Okeka said the officials responsible for keeping Mr Sowore in\ncustody in defiance of multiple judicial pronouncements on the matter are not\noblivious of the potential consequences of their roles.
\n
\n\u201cThey know that one day would come when they would have to face the\nmusic for this,\u201d the lawyer said from Owerri. \u201cThere are some things you just\ncannot get away with, no matter how long it takes.\u201d
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\nMany Nigerians had suspected the government\u2019s predicament from the\ncontroversial statements by the SSS on why Mr Sowore was still being kept in\ncustody.
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\nThe statements, critics said, were so weak in law, logic and substance\nthat many could not come to terms with the reality that they were issued by the\ncountry\u2019s preeminent domestic intelligence outfit.
\n
\nThe efforts were repeatedly pushed as Nigerians took to the streets to\ncompel the SSS to respect the country\u2019s judiciary and stop seeing itself as\nabove the law. Even though SSS operatives used force against activists and\njournalists who covered the protests, the demand for Mr Sowore\u2019s release has\nintensified.
\n
\nInternationally, protests were held in the United States earlier this\nweek for Mr Sowore\u2019s release to enable him to see his young family for the\nfirst time in several months. Nigerian professionals from leading institutions\nacross the world also signed a statement calling for his release earlier this\nmonth.
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\nRights groups have asked the government to obey courts in Mr Sowore\u2019s\ncase, with Amnesty International designating him and two orders prisoners of\nconscience.
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\nEarlier this week, United States lawmakers joined the calls for Mr\nSowore\u2019s release and warned that any attempt to further stifle the country\u2019s\ncivic space in violation of international treaties would not be acceptable to\nthe international community.
\n
\nThe Buhari administration also faces a potential clash with the\njudiciary if Mr Sowore is not released before his scheduled court appearance on\nDecember 5 and 6.
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\nAlready, Ijeoma Ojukwu, the judge handling the case who granted him\nbail, has threatened to hold Mr Bichi in criminal contempt of court for defying\nher order.
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\nIt was unclear how the secret police would explain the disregard of\nthe judge\u2019s order to her. There are suspicions that the activist may not be\nproduced again in court as was the case with Sambo Dasuki, erstwhile national\nsecurity adviser being held since 2015 against court orders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"