Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili has reacted to the charges brought against human rights activist and pro-democracy campaigner, Omoyele Sowore, by the Nigerian Government.
Nigerian government on Friday placed a seven-count charge of treasonable felony and money laundering against detained activist and Convener of #RevolutionNow protest, Sowore.
Sowore, a presidential candidate in the February 2019 presidential election was charged along with Olawale Bakare, also known as Mandate.
The charges were signed on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), by Aminu Alilu, a Chief State Counsel in the Department of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Justice.
In the charges instituted against the defendants, the prosecution accused Sowore and his co-defendant of committing conspiracy to commit treasonable felony in breach of section 516 of the Criminal Code Act by allegedly staging “a revolution campaign on September 5, 2019 aimed at removing the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The prosecution also accused them of committing the actual offence of reasonable felony in breach of section, 4(1)(c) of the Criminal Code Act, by using the platform of Coalition for Revolution, in August 2019 in Abuja, Lagos and other parts of Nigeria, to stage the #RevolutionNow protest allegedly aimed at removing the President.
Reacting, Ezekwesili on her Twitter page, said the FG might have caged Sowore but they cannot cage his ideas.
She wrote, “We stand on with @YeleSowore and defend his constitutional right and freedom to protest any matter of Governance that worries him.
“Mr Sowore’s convening of Citizens to protest Poor Governance – via #RevolutionNow- is Constitutionally guaranteed.Gratitude to his legal team.
“Democracy and Voice are Siamese Twins.The good kind of Siamese Twins. No one regardless of their position is given the right to shut down Voices like @YeleSowore ‘s for daring to disagree.
“How long shall it take before the FG understands the Basics of Democracy?Our FG @NigeriaGov led by @NGRPresident @MBuhari may think they have ‘caged’ @YeleSowore because he dared to challenge Bad Leadership and Poor Governance through #RevolutionNow.
“Not so, actually.His Idea can never be caged. Why?You cannot cage an idea whose time has come.@YeleSowore is unconstitutionally and unlawfully detained for calling out deadly incompetence of the @NigeriaGov of @MBuhari
“Not even the Judiciary is spared this spread of deadly incompetence.Here’s the thing. This level of Incompetence is too costly and unsustainable.
“It is painful that @YeleSowore bears the brunt of the collective dissatisfaction of the Citizens of Nigerians toward a grossly incompetent and intolerant @AsoRock.
“We must thank him for once again reminding us that. The Power of the People is greater than the People in Power!
“When the Citizens of Nigeria are ready, neither @YeleSowore nor anyone else need publicly mobilize them and be accused of “wanting to overthrow a government”.
“The Citizens shall on their own rid themselves of a trenchantly incompetent and wicked Political Class.”
