Prof. Wole Soyinka has said that the Federal Government’s continued disobedience to court rulings especially with regards to the case of Mr.Omoyele Sowore , the publisher of Sahara Reporters, is an act of disrespect to the Judiciary.
The Nobel Laureate said the nation continues to undergo the chagrin of having the rug pulled from under her feet while waiting on the long queue for judicial redress against the strong-arm culture of the state, as well as unlisted power interests.
In the case of Sowore who was arrested for calling for revolution to protest against bad governance via his #RevolutionNow# movement, Soyinka asked: “Is Sowore Miyetti Allah?”
He further stated that “As for those agencies that actually think to inhibit social revolution by fastening on the alarmist association of the word ‘revolution’, half the citizens of this nation should be in permanent detention. From pulpit to the minaret, from clinic to fish market, from student club to motor park, the wish for a drastic transformation of this nation is staple discourse.”
Soyinka also stated that the degree of cynicism in the conduct of State Security agencies in the present administration has attained a level of consistency that is surpassed by only one other previous government.
The playwright and critic in a statement titled, ‘Between thuggery and state disobedience’, said it is sad that not only have the State Security agencies refused to obey a court order to release the suspect after fulfilling his bail conditions, but they have also manufactured one childish pretext after another, including a claim that no one has shown up to receive the detainee.
He condemned the arrest and continued detention of the human rights activist under what he described as the often specious alibi labeled “national security”.
Soyinka said much of the judiciary across the continent remains constantly under siege, adding that Nigeria is no exception.
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