TheCable

Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2019 elections, has asked a federal high court in Abuja to set aside the order granting approval to the Department of State Services (DSS) to detain him for 45 days. 

In a 19-ground application filed through Femi Falana, his lawyer , Sowore said the order to detain him breached his constitutionally guaranted rights.

He said it amounted to “legalising the illegality” of his detention for four days earlier before the court granted the DSS application. 

Sowore was arrested on Saturday ahead of the #RevolutionNow protest.

The DSS had accused him of threatening public peace and safety with the planned nationwide protest.

After holding him for four days, the DSS approached the court  on Tuesday to seek its permission to keep Sowore for 90 days. 

But in his ruling on Thursday, Taiwo Taiwo, the presiding judge, held that he had to grant the application “only to the extent” of allowing the security agency to keep Sowore in custody for 45 days to conclude its investigation.

Falana had earlier said the government would be making a mistake to file charges against the activist.