The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday has ordered the immediate release of Omoyele Sowore, the convener of #RevolutionNow protest, from the custody of the Department of State Service, DSS.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo said the activist should be released to his lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), who is to produce him for arraignment whenever he is required.
The Justice in his ruling held that the previous order it issued for the security agency to detain Sowore for 45 days, had elapsed.
Justice Taiwo noted that an application the DSS re-approached filed to renew the detention order was struck out after it was withdrawn.
He held that the application having been struck out, there was nothing before the court to warrant Sowore’s continued stay in detention.
The court stressed that it was constitutionally empowered to safeguard the right to liberty of every Nigerian citizen, irrespective of position or social status.
However, Justice Taiwo ordered Sowore to surrender his international passport to the Chief Registrar of the court.
He ordered that Sowore who has been in detention since August 2 when he was arrested by DSS operatives, should be immediately released to his lead counsel, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, within 24 hours.
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The court held that Falana must be ready to produce his client whenever he is needed for prosecution. The DSS had before to ruling, prayed the court through its counsel, Mr Godwin Abadua, to allow Sowore to remain in detention pending his arraignment on the seven-count charge the Federal Government preferred against him last week.
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