The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, remanded the convener of #RevolutionNow protest, Mr Omoyele Sowore in custody of the Department of State Service (DSS) till Friday pending hearing his bail application.
Trial Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu remanded Sowore and his co-defendant, Olawale Adebayo Bakare (aka Mandate), shortly after they pleaded not guilty to a seven-count charge the Federal Government preferred against them.
Though the court initially asked the defendants to choose between Kuje and Suleja prisons, Sowore’s lawyer, Mr. Olumide Fusika( SAN) urged the court to allow them to remain in the custody of the DSS till the next adjournment.
Immediately he was being ushered out of the courtroom, Sowore made a move to address the press, but was forcibly prevented ay by DSS operatives.
Sowore started chanting songs of victory and urging Nigerians to rise against bad governance, as he was being whisked away by security agents amid protest from his supporters.
After he mounted the dock, Sowore, declined to enter their plea to the charge, challenging the legal propriety of his arraignment when the DSS refused to obey an order the court made for his immediate release from detention.
Sowore, who was the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, in the last general election and publisher of an online media platform, Sahara Reporters, has been in detention since August 2 when he was arrested for calling for a nationwide protest against perceived maladministration by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.
The federal government is accusing Sowore of conspiracy, money laundering, cyber-stalking and insulting President Buhari
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