Nigerian Judiciary Today

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Omoyele Sowore

Sowore: detained by a defiant DSS

By Femi Oluwasanmi

The latest drama by the Department of State Services (DSS) in its quest to re-arrest Omoyele Sowore after creating tumultuous atmosphere in the temple of justice on December 6, 2019 raises serious questions on the hope of common man and the place of the Judiciary in Nigeria’s nascent democracy.

On the December 5, 2019, Comrades Omoyele Sowore and Olawale Bakare were released from the custody of the DSS hours after Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja gave the DSS a 24-hour ultimatum for their release.

On December 6, when the court reconvened, the DSS’ action was commended by the judge while he adjourned till February 11, 2020 for further hearing.

But few minutes after the adjournment, some men of the DSS stormed the court premises and seized Sowore again in an unconstitutional manner.

Before their release on 5 December, the DSS had flagrantly disobeyed several court orders mandating it to release the duo. First was the refusal of the DSS to obey the judgement delivered by justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on September 24, 2019.

In the ruling, Justice Taiwo granted them  bail, but the DSS refused to obey. This was the same judge who granted the DSS’s prayer to detain Sowore for 45 days on 8th of August, 2019.

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The second was the blatant disobedience to the judgement of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on November 6, 2019.

Justice ijeoma Ojukwu, while considering the seven counts bordering on treasonable felony, money laundering and cybercrime which were instituted against Sowore abd Bakare by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and the application for bail by the defence counsel, granted the accused bail on November 6, 2019. But, the DSS refused to release them.

This refusal made the judge to threatened the DSS boss, Yusuf Bichi with jail on November 12. Despite this threat, Sowore was not released until December 5, 2019, after the judge had given a 24-hour ultimatum with a fine of 100 000 Naira.

In fact, the manner in which the DSS disobeys court orders these days suggests that the DSS has established a parallel court which it consults after visiting the normal court to decide whether to obey court order or not.

As a matter of fact, no democracy can grow in a country where the judiciary has to study the body language of the executive or its agents before dispensing judgement. This is because judicial independence is a corner-stone of democracy and the most important ingredient for peace and development. It anchors a nation’s respect in the international community and makes a country attractive to investors.

Therefore, it is pertinent to restore the authority of the Judiciary as enshrined in the constitution by respecting orders, because a state where there is a blatant disregard for court judgement, rule of law, principle of separation of powers is a nation on the brink.

*Femi Oluwasanmi wrote this article from Ibafo, Ogun State, Nigeria.

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