At least, six members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet, who are lawyers, have not publicly condemned the illegal detention of an activist, Omoyele Sowore, by the State Security Service (SSS). Majority of them have simply kept mum, publicly, on the matter.
They have also refused to publicly comment on Friday’s invasion of a federal court by SSS officials, a move for which the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) has demanded the suspension of Yusuf Bichi, the Director General of the SSS.
Mr Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters, and an activist, Olawale Bakare, are charged with treasonable felony, fraud, cyber-stalking and abusing President Muhammadu Buhari.
On two occasions, the court ruled that the duo be granted bail, but the SSS failed to obey the court orders.
Mr Sowore, who was arrested on August 3 by the SSS for planning a protest popularised with the hashtag #RevolutionNow, was granted bail for the second time on October 18.
SSS did not respect a previous bail granted the defendant on September 24.
Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu on Thursday ordered that both men be released within 24 hours.
The SSS, in a bid to claim to have complied with the order, released both men Thursday night before re-arresting them Friday morning in court.
It was reported how armed SSS officials stormed the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court to rearrest Messrs Sowore and Bakare.
The armed officials went into the court premises to violently apprehend the activists, the first time in the nation’s history.
The SSS, which is under the purview of the president, is notorious for disobeying court orders.
It has continued to detain a former National Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki and Shi’ite’s leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, despite court orders granting them bail.
None of the six lawyers in Mr Buhari’s cabinet has publicly condemned the disobedience of court orders generally including in the case of Mr Sowore or the desecration of the court on Friday in the bid to rearrest the activist.
These lawyers are Yemi Osinbajo, Festus Keyamo, Babatunde Fashola and Godswill Akpabio.
Others are Boss Mustapha and Abubakar Malami.
