Sowore
According to SaharaReporters, the pro-democracy campaigner and
journalist, Omoyele Sowore, has been nominated to receive the Prisoner
of Conscience honour from the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the
United States House of Representatives.
The bipartisan commission is charged with promoting, defending and advocating for international human rights.
U.S lawmaker, Josh Gottheimer, sponsored Sowore’s nomination for the prestigious recognition.
The Congressman made the announcement during a meeting with other American politicians on Friday.
He said, “For months now, I have been working closely with the
Sowore family, the Haworth community, the State Department, and my
colleagues to advocate on Yele’s (Omoyele) behalf.
“We are urging the Nigerian Government to protect Yele’s safety, provide
him with the due process he deserves, and ultimately permit him to
return home as soon as possible.
“We will continue watching the situation in Nigeria, a democracy seeking
closer ties with the United States, to make sure the government
respects basic human rights.”
Gottheimer and other members of Congress had earlier sent a letter to
Nigeria’s Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice,
Abubakar Malami (SAN), requesting that immediate steps be taken to
ensure the safety and security of Sowore while still in custody and to
ensure he get a credible trial.
Few days after receiving that latter, Malami on Tuesday ordered the
release of Sowore from unlawful detention by the Department of State
Services.
The journalist was first arrested on August 3, 2019 for calling on
Nigerians to take to the streets in peaceful demonstrations to demand a
better country from political leaders.
He was briefly released on bail on December 5 but rearrested a few hours
later on December 6 by DSS operatives while appearing for his trial in a
case brought against him by the Nigerian Government.
He is being accused of insulting President Muhammadu Buhari and planning to bring down his regime.
In all, Sowore spent over four months in detention despite two court orders directing his release on bail during that period.