Sowore: Activists Plan Fresh 1million-Man March In Protest

Sowore surrounded by supporters…courtesy The Guardian

In the continued bid to win the unconditional release of Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, in the 2019 general elections, a league of activists have resolved to match on the streets tomorrow, Wednesday, 14, 2019.

These include Deji Adeyanju, the convener of pro-democracy and good governance group, Concerned Nigerians; Ariyo Dare Atoye of Concerned Nigerians, Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy and Constitution and Adebayo Raphael of Free Nigeria Movement.

They would joined in the symbolic protest by other sympathetic Nigerians, who have are also pressuring the Federal Government to release the detained activist.

According to them, they are also against the detention of other people they have described as  prisoners of conscience, according to reports, and these include Jones Abiri, Steven Kefas, Dadiyata and others, who have variously been detained by security men before now,.

Sowore was arrested over his call for nationwide revolutionary protest tagged, #RevolutionNow, against alleged maladministration by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.

The protest held in various parts of the country despite his arrest, although not without stiff resistance from security agencies, with some of the protesters arrested and subsequently arraigned in Lagos.

Also, the DSS, in an application it brought before Justice Taiwo Taiwo, who is sitting as a vacation Judge, had obtained the leave to detain Sowore in its custody till all its investigations were concluded.

Ever since then, many prominent Nigerians, including civil society organisations and socio-political groups like PANDEF, Ohanaeze-Ndigbo, Afenifere, among others have condemned Sowore’s arrest and called for his immediate release.

Meanwhile, in a statement to Vanguard on Tuesday, Mr. Adeyanju, on behalf of the other groups, said they would lead a one million man #FreeSoworeNow protest to demand the unconditional release of the detained activists.

According to him, the #FreeSoworeNow protest will take place at the Unity Fountain, Abuja by 11am on Wednesday.

He said, “We are protesting for other prisoners of conscience too.”