The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday struck out the application by the Department of Social Security (DSS) to further detain the publisher of SaharaReporters and convener of Revolution Now, Omoyele Sowore, TVC reports.
This follows the withdrawal of the application by the state counsel.
Sowore’s lawyer, Femi Falana, persuaded the court to order immediate release of his client as the prosecution is no longer interested to detain him further.
Counsel to the DSS, however, challenged the oral application for release saying that a formal suit has been filed where Sowore is being accused of treasonable felony which is a capital offence.
Sowore was arrested on August 3rd, two days before a rally tagged Revolution Now for allegedly plotting to overthrow an elected government.
The prosecutor is asking the Court to deny the respondent bail due to the fresh charges filed against him.
In response, counsel to Sowore said the application for bail was withdrawn and the prosecutor’s application for further remand was also withdrawn. He stressed that the new charges can’t metamorphose in a remand order.
Falana urged the court to disregard the submission on the prosecutor. Falana said the prosecutor can not ask the court to detain a citizen prospectively and in anticipation of the arraignment of the defendant order his detention.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja is to rule later on Tuesday on the request to order the release of Sowore, from the custody of the DSS.
The judge stood down the case after hearing arguments from legal teams of Sowore and the DSS.
More to come…
_____
Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng
Copyright 2019 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant source.