Headlines
You Have 14 Days to Release Sowore, Others or Face Mass Action, CSOs Tell Buhari
A coalition of civil society organisations in Nigeria has issued a 14-day ultimatum to President Muhammadu Buhari to release Omoyele Sowore and other illegal detainees in SSS custody or brace for nationwide protests.
Mr Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters, was initially released by the SSS on Thursday after prolonged refusal by the State Security Service to obey a court order for his freedom.
On Friday, the SSS invaded a courtroom in Abuja and rearrested the activist. Mr Sowore called for protests to demand good governance. The government accuses him of treason, money laundering and insulting Mr Buhari.
The coalition demanding his release includes Centre for Democracy & Development (CDD), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Concerned Nigerians, Enough Is Enough Nigeria(EiE) three others.
Amnesty International said it was in support of the call for the immediate release of all unlawfully-held detainees.
At a press conference in Abuja on Monday, the groups also faulted the invasion of the court by the SSS.
In a joint statement read by Yemi Adamolekun of EiE, the groups presented five demands to the government.
They asked Mr Buhari to speak to the media and show his commitment to the rule of law; and to release of all illegal detainees in DSS custody, including the unconditional release of Mr Sowore.
They also demanded that the administration obey all pending court orders, and investigate the officers who invaded a federal court on Friday.
“Tomorrow, December 10, the world will celebrate Human Rights Day. It will also be marked in Nigeria as we review the crackdown of the freedom of the press, proposed bills to curb dissent, and a general environment of shrinking civic space of which the recent actions of our security agents is just an example,” the statement said.
“We represent a cross-section of the Nigerian Civil Society actors that have played various roles in the journey of Nigeria to civilian rule.
“Two key issues that are of concerns to us, namely: number one, attack on our judiciary and number two, attack on free speech and pattern of silencing the press,” Ms Yemi read.
The executive director of CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani, said the government acted with the same impunity its party condemned in the past.
“Just in 2015, when DSS went to invade APC data centre, they were crying. Lai Mohammed was shouting, saying this is the worst that has ever happened in Nigeria history. But today they all kept quiet, in fact, justifying this group violent violation of fundamental human rights in Nigeria,” he said.
Mr Rafsanjani said judged by the recent development, the Buhari administration was worse than past military regimes.
He called on all Nigerians to join the activists in “checkmating” bad governance rather than treat the matter with indifference.
“We want the whole world to know that what we are experiencing is military dictatorship because during the military regime, as fascist as they were, they were not going against the precedence of the court carrying out illegal and irresponsible attacks,” he said.
An activist, Deji Adeyanju, said the government must meet the demands to stop the protests.
“Whether we like it or not, mass action is inevitable if the government refuses to comply with our demands. The reason it is important to all Nigerian to own this trouble is that everyone is an activist; whether you are a journalist, market woman, social media,” Mr Adeyanju told pressmen.
The Presidency has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments were directed at the political situation in Rivers State or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s constitutional decisions on the matter.
In a statement on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency described the reports as a “gross misrepresentation.”
The statement clarified that Vice President Shettima’s remarks at the public presentation of a book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), were misconstrued by some online platforms and individuals.
“These reports have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda,” it stated.
“They twisted his account of how the administration of former President Jonathan considered removing him as Borno Governor during the insurgency to falsely link it with current events in Rivers State.”
The Vice President, who spoke at the launch of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block in Abuja on Thursday, was said to have referenced the past solely to commend Adoke’s professionalism while in office, and to reflect on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution regarding federal and state relations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal.
“This action was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time, with the governor facing a looming impeachment and the State Assembly complex under demolition,” Nkwocha clarified.
The Presidency insisted that the action taken by President Tinubu in declaring a state of emergency and suspending the Governor was fully in line with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which authorises such measures when there is a breakdown of public order requiring extraordinary intervention.
According to the statement, the President’s proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, confirming the legitimacy and constitutional propriety of the decision.
“The action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr. Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading,” the statement further noted.
Nkwocha also stressed that Vice President Shettima’s comments were delivered extemporaneously and intended to underline the importance of public accountability and historical documentation.
He referenced the Vice President’s mention of past public servants, including Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to illustrate principled leadership.
“His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation,” the spokesman stated.
The Vice President, the statement added, remains in “loyal concert” with President Tinubu and is committed to implementing all constitutional measures necessary to safeguard democracy and uphold order across the country.
Concluding, the Presidency called on media organisations and political actors to desist from misrepresenting public remarks for sensational or partisan purposes.
“We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts,” Nkwocha said.
Headlines
Akpabio Relieves Natasha of Committee Chairmanship Position, Appoints Akwa Ibom Senator As Replacement
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has replaced suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora/Non-Governmental Organisations.
In her place, Akpabio named Senator Bassey Aniekun Etim (Akwa Ibom -East).
The Senate President, who made the announcement on the floor in Abuja on Thursday, did not give any reasons.
The committee position had remained vacant since March when the Senate suspended the Kogi-Central Senatorial District lawmaker for six months for flouting the Senate’s rule on the seating arrangement and seat allocation.
The suspended lawmaker, at a point, chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content before Akpabio reassigned her to the Committee on Diaspora/NGO, shortly before she ran into trouble with the Senate over her conduct on seat allocation.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the 2024 governorship election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court ruled that the appeal lacked merit. It upheld the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had both declared Okpebholo the validly elected governor.
