TRACKING >>A group, Voice of Reason (VOR), has said that the detention of Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters and the presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC) in the February 2019 General Elections, for what it described as the “crime of a call for revolution” which is neither known to Nigerian statutes or criminal law nor the constitution of the country is a worrisome development.
This was just as the group consisted of prominent Nigerians drawn from diverse backgrounds in Yoruba land, cautioned the federal government on the handling of detention saga of leader of Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Ibrahim El-Zakzaki, nothing that while it was incumbent on citizens to maintain law and order at all times, as part of their obligations, for the good of all in any society, “government has a burden duty to recognize and respect the human rights and dignity of Nigerian citizens.”
Chairman of the group, Dr. Olufemi Adegoke, said this at a press conference which took place at Ilupeju area of Lagos, and attended Dr. Olufemi Adegoke, Dr. Ebun Sonaiya, Dr. Ladi Awosika, Dr. Leke Oshunniyi and Former Rector, Aviation College, Zaria, Capt. Yele Caukcrick, among others.
Adegoke said such rights include the right to lawful assembly as well as the right to free speech, recalling that newspaper archive pictures and headline news abound in the public space depicting General Muhammadu Buhari (as he was then known) leading top notch All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders in a public protest march against insecurity under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration,, “as well as an outright call for revolution against the government of President Jonathan.”
“In none of these cases were security forces deployed against the then APC opposition whilst they exercised their constitutional rights to conduct peaceful public protests against a sitting administration,” Adegoke stated, declaring that there was the need for Nigerians to be alert to check what he termed an insidious establishment of a dictator in a democracy that all citizens joined hands to fight for.
“We need to be alert to check an insidious establishment of a dictatorship in a democracy we all fought for,” he declared.
Speaking on the El- Zakzaki, VOR chairman called for diplomatic or political solution on the part of the federal government, warning that the open support shown by the government of Iran for the proscribed religious body could be an indication that “spectre of a proxy war by foreign powers on Nigerian soil looms menacingly large on the horizon.”
“VOR advises the government of the day to tread cautiously in the minefield of global geopolitics, and seek a diplomatic or political resolution to the problem.
“We are a democracy, and it is necessary for governments, just like individuals to respect the rule of law. This include the prompt obedience of court orders.
