By Dipo Olowookere
The arrest of Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Mr Omoyele Sowore, in the wee hours of Saturday, August 3, 2019 by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) has continued to generate mixed reactions in the country.
One of the latest prominent Nigerians to comment on the matter is a human rights activist and President of Centre for Change (CD), Mrs Joe Odumakin.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Mrs Odumakin condemned the arrest of Mr Sowore, a former presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2019 general elections, by men of the DSS ahead of Monday, August 5, 2019 protest tagged #RevolutionNow.
In the statement, she described the arrest as uncalled for, emphasising that calling for a protest cannot be a crime under any law to warrant anticipatory arrest.
She, therefore, called on federal government to immediately order the release of the activist, who is asking government to address the different issues presently in the country.
“The attention of the Centre for Change has been drawn to the arrest of Mr Omoyele Sowore by men of DSS.
“The arrest coming ahead of the Monday protest he and others are spearheading suggests a fledging culture of intolerance that may be gripping the country.
“Except he has committed any other offence that we are not aware of ,calling a protest cannot be a crime under any law to warrant anticipatory arrest as has been done .
“We demand immediate release of the activist whom we declare a prisoner of conscience for every minute he is held.
“We advise the government to temper its mood as this is a democracy and not military rule,” the statement reads.
Yesterday, the police, in a statement, described the proposed protest as a treasonable felony and threatened to deal with anyone who makes any attempt to go on with the demonstration tomorrow. The police said the protest was an attempt to overthrow a democratically elected government, promising not to allow such happen under its watch.
