“The trial of Sowore which has lasted for more than four years is political and a deliberate attempt to isolate and persecute him," NIRCO said.
The President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government has again been asked to drop all trumped-up charges against a human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore who has been facing treason charges since 2019 without committing any offence.
The Nigerian Human Rights Community (NIRCO), which made the call in a statement issued on Thursday, asked President Tinubu not to sustain the "obnoxious principle" that portrays the Nigerian state on a vengeance mission against an individual under his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.
Sowore, convener of #RevolutionNow, was also the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), in the February 25 presidential election.
The Attorney-General of the Federation’s office had filed the charges against him after the State Security Service (SSS) illegally arrested and detained him for calling for a nationwide #RevolutionNow protest against former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in August 2019.
But reacting in a statement on the continued persecution of Sowore, the Nigerian Human Rights Community (NIRCO) a coalition of 132 civil rights and community-based groups, on Thursday, demanded that the Tinubu-led administration drops the charges.
According to the coalition, the trumped-up charges appear to be driven by the politics of persecution.
In the statement signed by officials of the organisation, Mr Fred Ojinika and Latees Kole Ajayi, the group said there was no need for the continued trial of the #RevolutionNow activist and media publisher.
“The trial of Sowore which has lasted for more than four years is political and a deliberate attempt to isolate and persecute him," NIRCO said.
“We call for an immediate halt to the trial of Mr Omoyele Sowore who was accused of treason in a case that the government has failed to bring forth any iota of evidence. It is ridiculous that Sowore alleged conspirator was a secondary school boy who was barely learning about the meaning of treason when he was arrested."
The group said the Federal Government should halt the trial and stop embarrassing the country.
Since the trial of Sowore began, the group said, "We have received enquiries from all over the world including diplomats wondering why the Nigerian government was using an armoured tank to kill a fly. Each time the government takes him to court, it brings back memories of the tyrannical years of military rule.
“The former President Muhammadu Buhari and the cabal in his cabinet acted as if they had personal grudges with Sowore. It is not about law, neither is it about any offence committed, but a clear case of witch-hunting and reckless abuse of power. We call on the current government not to sustain the obnoxious principle that portrays the Nigerian state on a vengeance mission against an individual.”
The coalition asked the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to withdraw all charges against Sowore with immediate effect.
"He has been denied access to his family, his wife and children for more than four years. His immediate junior brother was shot dead in curious circumstances; armed agents trail him from dawn to dusk abridging his freedom and curtailing his liberty in the most vicious manner.
"There is no justification for denial of liberty to a man whose platform has provided the widest window for freedom of expression to millions of Nigerians. Sahara Reporters remains the first online platform that opened opportunities for rich and poor, armed and defenceless, politicians and non-politicians, state and non-state actors to express their fears and aspirations about their past, present and future.
"The worst any government can do to destroy democracy is to endlessly assault the pillars of free speech which Sowore and SaharaReporters stand for," the group maintained.