The Federal Government of Nigeria has broken its silence on the ordeal of journalist and activist, Omoyele Sowore. The Department of State Security Service (DSS) invaded a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday, November 7, and rearrested the embattled political activist.

Sowore was arrested in August for calling for revolution, and has been in detention since then despite several court rulings granting him bail. Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court Abuja has on Thursday, November 6, giving the DSS a marching 24 hour order to release Sowore. But a day after he was released, members of the secret service attacked the court and abducted him once again.

The events of the past have, however, stirred an uproar and condemnation both locally and internationally. The U.S Department of Justice has condemned the development in strong terms, calling it “a threat to Nigerian democracy.”

In response to the condemnation, the Nigerian Government has issued a statement to address what many have described as ‘desecration of the court and ‘utter disregard for the rule of law.’

“The Presidency notes some of the insinuations in the media about the arrest by the Department of State Services (DSS) of the agitator, Omoyele Sowore.

The DSS does not necessarily need the permission of the Presidency in all cases to carry out its essential responsibilities that are laid down in the Nigerian Constitution – which was the foundation for the restoration of democracy in our country in 1999.

However, it should not surprise anyone who has followed his actions and words that Sowore is a person of interest to the DSS.

Sowore called for a revolution to overthrow the democratically elected government of Nigeria.

He did so on television, and from a privileged position as the owner of a widely read digital newspaper run from the United States of America.

He founded an organisation, Revolution Now, to launch, in their own words, “Days of Rage”, with the publicised purpose of fomenting mass civil unrest and the elected administration’s overthrow.

No government will allow anybody to openly call for destabilization in the country and do nothing.

Mr. Sowore is no ordinary citizen expressing his views freely on social media and the internet.

He was a presidential candidate himself, who ran – and lost – as the flag bearer of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the February 23 general elections.

Nigeria’s democracy was a long time in the making, and was achieved after decades of often harsh, military-led overthrows of government: the kind of situation Sowore was advocating.

To believe in and desire armed revolution is not normal amongst ‘human rights activists’, as Sowore has been incorrectly described.

Again, it is no surprise that he should be a person of interest to the DSS.

Nigeria is already dealing with an insurgency that has left millions of people displaced and desperate in the northeastern region of our country.

The Boko Haram militants, who are behind the violence, also fancy themselves to be fighting for some sort of revolution.

Nigerians do not need another spate of lawlessness and loss of lives all in the name of ‘revolution’, especially not one that is orchestrated by a man who makes his home in far away New York –

… and who can easily disappear and leave behind whatever instability he intends to cause, to wit, Nnamdi Kanu. This is a matter for the DSS, acting under its powers.”

Meanwhile, Human rights lawyer and counsel to Sowore, Barr. Femi Falana (SAN) said he will be approaching the court to strike out the case. Speaking at the third edition of Compendium of High Profile Corruption Cases in Nigeria, organized by Human & Environmental Development Agenda HEDA, on Monday in Lagos, Mr. Falana told the press that the Government has decided to embark on media trial instead of presenting the defense counsel with copies of the crimes that Sowore was charged with, as directed by the court.

“The government has not shown any readiness in prosecuting Sowore,” he said. “We were told that Sowore went to Dubai to collect millions of dollars to overthrow the government. But the government discovered that Sowore has never been to Dubai before, and that aspect collapsed.

“So what the government is doing is to embark on media trial without giving any evidence in court.” He added.

Nevertheless, there is concern that even if court strikes out the case in February, the Government will, as in previous cases, disobey the order.

The famous quote attributed to Mao Zedong which states that “political power grows out of the barrel of a gun” can be rephrased today as “all destructive powers lie in the barrel of a gun.” Political power is not the only one that guns initiate; intimidating and extorting ones also grow from there. A good example of the latter is the constant killing of innocent motorists by Nigerian Police Force.

Everyday, Nigerian news carries stories of how a police officer shot and killed a commercial driver on the highway just because the driver refused to part with his money (usually #50). Sometimes you will find the one about a police officer killing his colleague(s) and maybe committing suicide in the process. The one of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) has already gotten out of hand to the extent that some Nigerians have rebranded the unit as “Shoot At Sight” (SAS).

Nigerian police has been written off as being notorious for human right abuses and extrajudicial killings and they seemed not bothered about it. People make excuses for them saying they are undertrained and underpaid; but should that be the reason the country looks the other way while these officers that are there to protect lives and properties destroy what they were supposed to guard?

I no longer believe the story of under training and under payment because if the Nigerian military personnel can observe some restraints while dealing with civilians, the Nigerian police can also observe that. If you asked me, I’ll say that the reason these men behave the way they do is because of system failure.

If the system has not truly failed, why are these police men mounting road blocks everywhere to extort motorists despite constant public outcry? How come nobody checks and cautions them? Why is the government not doing anything to curb the extortion of motorists by these police officers? Let’s face it, these men knew nobody will question them so they go ahead with their ills undeterred.

Most of the recorded deaths caused by trigger-happy police officers came as a result of vehicle drivers’ refusing to give them money. These officers, most of the times, threaten motorists that delayed in handing over the ‘fee’ by pointing guns and warning them not to move or they will get shot. Some drivers, who want to stand by their rights, sometimes decide to argue it out and end up getting themselves shot. Others may ignore the threat and drive off just for the police officers to shoot at them and the bullets may hit someone in the vehicle or someone standing by. This happens constantly; and is still happening unless something is done about it.

NPF cannot continue to pretend that all is well while its staff members create havoc daily. There is need to do something before this problem gets out of hand. To start with, they should do the following:

1. Monitor road blocks and checkpoints to ensure that their men are not there to extort motorists.

2. Arrest officers that abuse drugs. A lot of them actually abuse substances and act under their influence.

3. Withdraw firearm licence of officers whose mental, emotional and psychological behaviours are questionable.

4. Open a functional platform where citizens can send in anonymous complaints about police officers, and then act on those complaints.

5. Employ qualified candidates who have integrity.

6. Sack officers with questionable characters.

As Nigerians await the reform of the Nigerian Police Force, I’ll like to appeal to all to avoid having heated arguments with armed people – be it police officers, soldiers or thieves (of course no one argues with thieves). In as much as it is uneasy to bear, sometimes it is good to play the fool to stay alive. Be patient; give them that money and stay alive for your children.

But then, you can make use of technology to contribute your own quota towards reforming the NPF. All you need to do is find a strategic angel and get a clean shot of the officer extorting or harassing a motorist. Get a picture or a video and send it into the internet, and then leave the dog and the spirits to struggle over the bone. However, be safe as you carry out this James Bond act. You don’t want to lose your phone or your teeth if the officer catches you; and you definitely don’t want to lose your neck if Hate Speech Bill sees you first.