Copyright newtelegraphng
The Centre for Change has reacted to the rearrest of human rights activist and politician, Omoyele Sowore, after he was granted bail by a Magistrate’s Court in Abuja. The group that spoke in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Joe Okei-Odumakin, condemned the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), describing the incident as unlawful and undemocratic. The statement reads, “Our attention has been drawn to the drama that the law enforcement agency, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), staged at the Magistrate Court shortly after Comrade Omoyele Sowore was granted bail. “One would have expected that the Nigerian Correctional Service would take custody of a defendant who fails to perfect his or her bail. But to our greatest surprise, the police usurped such constitutional responsibility of the Correctional Service, which is the most irresponsible and unlawful act of a law enforcement agency. “We wish to assert that the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Nigeria is a signatory, guarantee the rights of everyone to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. “Democratic governance in Nigeria was birthed with the blood of innocent citizens and patriots, whose blood continues to seek justice, deepening democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law. “We hereby call on the federal government to release Sowore and other protesters who were arrested. “There is no democracy without the right of dissenting voices, as protest is never a crime. There is a rise in human rights violations in Nigeria, and this is antithetical to democratic governance.
