- Safiu Kehinde
Nigerian human rights activist and 2023 Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has on Thursday challenged operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) over the blockage of the entrance into the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The DSS operatives who heavily guarded the court premises amid the ongoing trial of the Indigenous People of Biafra’s leader (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, were approached by Sowore for denying a lone protester, Flagman, access to the court premises.
The protester, who stood in the middle of the road with a Nigerian flag and a white flag containing the inscription ‘Stop the killing in Benue”, was kept off the court premises by the DSS operatives.
He alleged that the DSS threatening to arrest him if he trespassed.
Addressing a senior official of the security agency, Sowore urged the DSS operatives to let him in as he did not commit any crime.
“Oga what did he do? Is it because of the flag?” Sowore asked the senior official whose identity was not disclosed.
Sowore challenged the official for blocking the whole streets around the court premises, stressing that the DSS’ territory is restricted to the court room where they have their suspect, Nnamdi Kanu.
The official, however rejected Sowore’s request to grant Flag man access despite claiming he came along with him for a case.
“I have a case on the fourth floor, and he is with me. Please let him come in. We don’t have to be fighting over this.
“Your territory is restricted to that court room where you have your national suspect.
“He hasn’t gone inside. It is when he goes inside that you have a problem with that.
“I have brought him to court several times. He is my partner for a better Nigeria.” He said.
The DSS official however insisted on restricting the activist, telling Sowore he has no right to grant him access.
Reacting, the Sahara Reporters publisher also held that the DSS has no right to prevent Nigerians from walking freely on the street.
He accused them of impeding the activist’s freedom of movement, adding that the DSS has no right to dictate who enters the court’s premises
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