Nigerian celebrities have joined in the reactions trailing the
charges brought against human rights activist and pro-democracy
campaigner, Omoyele Sowore, by the Nigerian Government.
Nigerian government on Friday placed a seven-count charge of
treasonable felony and money laundering against detained activist and
Convener of #RevolutionNow protest, Sowore.
Sowore, a presidential candidate in the February 2019 presidential
election was charged along with Olawale Bakare, also known as Mandate.
The charges were signed on behalf of the Attorney-General of the
Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), by Aminu
Alilu, a Chief State Counsel in the Department of Public Prosecutions of
the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Justice.
In the charges instituted against the defendants, the prosecution
accused Sowore and his co-defendant of committing conspiracy to commit
treasonable felony in breach of section 516 of the Criminal Code Act by
allegedly staging “a revolution campaign on September 5, 2019 aimed at
removing the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The prosecution also accused them of committing the actual offence of
reasonable felony in breach of section, 4(1)(c) of the Criminal Code
Act, by using the platform of Coalition for Revolution, in August 2019
in Abuja, Lagos and other parts of Nigeria, to stage the #RevolutionNow
protest allegedly aimed at removing the President.
Reacting, Mavin producer, Don Jazzy called on President Muhammadu
Buhari to free Sowore, adding that democracy was being sabotaged in the
country.
On his Twitter page, Don Jazzy wrote: “This dangerous precedent of
stifling opposition voices and dissenting opinions has survived enough.
“Let’s not pretend our nascent democracy isn’t being sabotaged when
citizens shudder at the thought of people they elected into power.
“I plead for Sowore,Free Sowore. It’s really sad to watch. The young man means well for our dear Nigeria. Who is next?”
Adding his voice to the development, Adekunle Gold, described the charges against Sowore as fictional.
On his Twitter page, he wrote, “I really don’t want to believe those fictional charges against Sowore.
“Treasonable what? That must be a joke.”