“Why arrest a citizen if you, as an agency of government, has yet to wrap up your investigations?"
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria has accused the President Muhammadu Buhari government and the Federal High Court of abuse of power.
The group made the statement on Thursday while reacting to the granting of an ex-parte order by Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to the Department of State Services to further detain activist and convener of RevolutionNow movement, Omoyele Sowore, for 45 days.
The Sahara Reporters publisher was arrested by the DSS in the early hours of Saturday in a Lagos hotel for urging Nigerian to pour out onto the streets and express their displeasure against bad governance in the country.
Despite calls for his release, the government agency has continued to hold on to him, creating tension in the polity.
Condemning the latest development, HURIWA said keeping Sowore in detention for another 45 days was totally unacceptable and against what the law stipulates.
The group said, “Why arrest a citizen if you, as an agency of government, has yet to wrap up your investigations?
“The decision of the Federal High Court, Abuja, will surely undermine civil liberty and constitutional freedom.
“If the court is no longer the hope of the common man, then our democracy is in trouble as a society.”