Clooney Foundation for Justice monitors trials globally, defends the rights of victims and survivors and holds perpetrators accountable.
A global rights and justice advocacy organization, Clooney Foundation for Justice, has said that the treasonable felony charge against Nigerian human rights activist and convener of #RevolutionNow, Omoyele Sowore, by the Nigerian government, was among many global cases it monitored in which opposition political party candidates were targeted with baseless criminal trials for daring to speak out against the government in power.
Clooney Foundation for Justice monitors trials globally, defends the rights of victims and survivors and holds perpetrators accountable.
The organisation said this on Monday in a post on its X (formerly Twitter) handle while reacting to the striking out of the treasonable felony charge against Sowore by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the court on Monday struck out the treasonable felony charge against Sowore, who was the candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections.
This followed the application of notice of discontinuance filed by the Nigerian government through the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) last week.
Clooney Foundation for Justice in its statement said, “After five years of unfair proceedings, the treason case against @YeleSowore in #Nigeria was finally struck out today.
“It was one of many global cases monitored by @TrialWatch (its subsidiary specialized in monitoring criminal trials globally to expose injustices and free prisoners who are unjustly detained) in which opposition candidates were targeted with baseless criminal trials for daring to speak out.”
According to the Senior Programme Manager of TrialWatch Nigeria, Kyle Delbyck, "The criminal case against Sowore should never have been brought in the first place.
“Justice has finally been served, but it comes after almost five years of unfair proceedings and delays, during which Omoyele was violently detained and as the result of which he has been separated from his wife and children.”
In a January 10, 2021 post on its website, the Clooney Foundation for Justice was “concerned by the most recent arrest of journalist and opposition figure Omoyele Sowore in Nigeria”.
It said, “Mr. Sowore, who has been on trial on charges of treason and conspiracy to commit treason for more than a year, had been free on bail subject to the condition that he stay in Abuja.
“After he called for peaceful protests across the country, he was arrested on New Year’s Eve for participating in what the authorities allege was an ‘unlawful gathering.’
“A TrialWatch report on the ongoing treason proceedings against Mr. Sowore found that he had been the victim of prosecutorial misconduct.
“In advance of Mr. Sowore’s next bail hearing, the Clooney Foundation for Justice calls on the Nigerian authorities to ensure that any detention order or prosecution is lawful and not politically-motivated. TrialWatch will continue monitoring Mr. Sowore’s treason trial through the American Bar Association Center for Human Rights.”
At the last adjourned date, the presiding judge Justice Emeka Nwite threatened to strike out the case following the lack of diligent prosecution on the part of the Nigerian government. He also warned that he would no longer grant any adjournments at the instance of the prosecution.
On Monday, he ordered the secret police, Department of State Services (DSS) to release Sowore’s three mobile phones, passport, and the sum of N10,000 seized from him.
The decision to discontinue the trial was communicated to the Federal High Court in Abuja via a notice of discontinuance, dated February 14 and filed by Lateef Fagbemi, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).
Nwite while ruling on the application of the judge ordered the DSS to release the three mobile phones and the sum of N10,000 seized from him on the day of arrest. The court also ordered the release of his passport.
Nwite also ordered the release of the mobile phone of his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare and the sum of N1,500 seized from him.