The Department of State Services has released rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the February 2019 general elections , Mr . Omoyele Sowore and his co – detainee , Adebayo Bakare.
They were freed hours after Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court in Abuja had given the DSS 24 -hour ultimatum to release the two men .
Their lead defence counsel, Mr . Femi Falana (SAN ), confirmed this development to our Newsmen on Thursday .
He said they were released about 7 pm on Thursday .
“ They were released about 30 minutes ago. They were released to one of our lawyers”, he added .
He also said that the agency had paid the sum of N100 , 000 awarded against it by Justice Ojukwu for making the court to adjourn till Friday for frivolous reasons on Thursday .
The two men , who are now being prosecuted by the Federal Government on charges of treasonable felony , were arrested in August over their call for ‘ Revolution ’ protest against what they described as “bad governance . ”
But the had DSS continued to hold them in custody despite separate court orders ordering their release .
It came to a head on Thursday when the judge , who frowned at the conduct of the DSS , issued a fresh order directing the agency to release them within 24 hours .
Earlier in the day , a group of half -naked women from Sowore ’ s birthplace in Kiribo , Ese – Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State , had stormed the Federal High Court , Abuja , to protest the continued illegal detention of their son by the DSS .
Most of the women , numbering about 30 , were decked in white wrappers and bra , but with no clothes covering the rest of the upper parts of their bodies .
Punch
