LAGOS AUGUST 5TH (URHOBOTODAY)-Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Chieftain, Chief Sunny Onueoske has appealed to prominent Nigerian activists in persons of Professor Wole Soyinka and Femi Falana among others to add their voices for the unconditional release of human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore.
Sowore, an activist and publisher of online news platform SaharaReporters, was reported to have been picked up at his apartment in the early of hours of Saturday by men suspected to be personnel of Department of State Security Service (DSS) .
Onuesoke who made the statement at the Muritalla Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos on his way from United States after attending a seminar on Freedom of Democracy in New York while addressing airport correspondent said both Soyinka and Falana are globally recognized in their efforts against the gagging of the struggle of true and freedom of democracy, said this is the time for both notable Nigerians to speak out against the incaseration of one of their own by the Department of State Security Service (DSS).
Wondering what offence Sowore would have committed to warrant his arrest, the former Governorship aspirant reminded those behind his arrest that the incumbent president once participated in a protest ,as his legitimate right in aftermath 2007 general elections.
“Then no one send security agents were after him,” he recalled.
Calling for the immediate release of Sowore, the PDP Chieftain pointed out that the alleged repressive action of the government is partially responsible why many Nigerians show no interest in electioneering process of the country in thelast general election, stressing that the percentage of Nigerians that participated or voted in the last general elections says it all.
“If calling for a revolution is treasonable, at least 70% of Nigerians should be in jail. They have called for it at one point or the other, including those in government now and when they were out of government. I have read about all sorts of people trying to justify his arrest. But you cannot arrest someone calling for protest in the anticipation that he will commit a crime.
“ If things continue this way, Nigeria might be going from life support to the mortuary. Why is this kind of force not deployed against the rampaging cattle herders?” Onuesoke enquired.