Afenifere condemns 45-day detention order on Sowore

Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, has slammed the Federal Government for arraigning human rights activist and convener, #RevolutionNow protests, Omoyele Sowore, under the Terrorism Act.

It also condemned the court ruling remanding the former presidential candidate in custody for 45 days.

The National Publicity Secretary, Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, said the order marked “a new phase in the orchestrated conscription of the democratic space in Nigeria.”

Insisting that the Terrorism Act cannot be superior to the Constitution which stipulated that a citizen cannot be detained for more than 48 hours before being charged to court, Afenifere in a statement on Thursday, stated that Sowore was arrested before he could commit a crime, noting that he was being held illegally using the legal process.

The group said, “The order represents a new phase in the orchestrated conscription of the democratic space in Nigeria. Sowore was arrested before he could commit an offence and the DSS (Department of State Services) seems to want to go shopping  for evidence to prosecute him.”

Odumakin advised the government to act in conformity with the democratic tenets in dealing with the rights of Nigerians, describing Sowore’s detention as a great injustice.