A Federal High Court in Abuja has approved on Thursday the request by the Department of State Services (DSS) to further keep Omoyele Sowore in detention for 45 days pending the conclusion of its investigation, according to local media reports. The ruling has reportedly said that the DSS will be allowed to keep Sowore in custody for 45 days in the first instance and this detention could be renewed upon application to enable the DSS to complete its investigation.
The Department of State Security arrested Omoyele Sowore, claiming that his call for nationwide protests on August 5, called Revolution Now, was an insurrection aimed at a forceful takeover of the government.
The Human Rights Watch called the arrest of Sowore ” a sign of growing intolerance in Nigeria that signifies the Nigerian government’s growing intention to shut down dissent.”
Sowore, the publisher of a New York-based Nigeria news website, Sahara Reporters, ran against President Muhammadu Buhari in the March 2019 presidential elections. His political party, Africa Action Congress, declared August 5 the beginning of “Days of Rage” to protest, among other things, an alleged lack of a level playing field in the March elections.