Convener of RevolutionNow campaign, Omoyele Sowore, has threatened to pursue the contempt proceedings against the Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, Yusuf Bichi over failure to release him.
InsideOjodu recalls that Sowore had recently dragged the DSS before an Abuja Federal High Court over his continued detention.
The activist was asking the court to order the DSS to pay him N500m as general and aggravated damages over his detention which he termed as an illegal violation of his fundamental rights.
Sowore had issued the threat through his counsel, Femi Falana, who alleged that the federal government has applied to the Federal High Court in Abuja for an order to transfer Sowore, and his co-accused, Olawale Bakare, from the custody of the DSS to prison.
He stated this in a letter dated December 1 and addressed to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
In the letter, Falana charged Malami to prevail on the DSS to release Sowore.
He said: “In treating the court order with provocative contempt, the State Security Service has insisted on approving the sureties of our clients after they have been verified by the Federal High Court.
“From the information at our disposal, there is no precedent whatsoever for the illegal demand.
“Instead of purging the security agency of such contempt of the Federal High Court, the prosecutor, Dr Hassan Liman (SAN), engaged by your good self to prosecute our clients, has curiously applied to the trial court to have them transferred to a correctional centre and detained indefinitely for having the temerity to question the illegal directive to produce their sureties.
“In view of the fact that the Federal Government has never given any precondition before complying with the orders of the British Court in the case of P & ID and other matters, we are compelled to request you to direct the State Security Service to comply with the orders of the Federal High Court for the unconditional release of our clients.
“Take notice that if you fail to accede to our request, we shall be compelled to carry out the firm instructions of our clients to pursue the contempt proceedings which have been initiated against Mr Yusuf Bichi, the Director-General of the State Security Service.
“In addition, we shall also report your good self and the prosecutor to the Nigerian Bar Association and the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee for encouraging the State Security Service to treat orders of Nigerian courts with disdain while you are anxious to obey the orders of British courts.”