A breather may have come the way of the detained activist and Presidential candidate in the last general electio, Mr Omoyele Sowore, as a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered his immediate release from the custody of the Department of State Services where he had been held for 53 days.
The Convener of #RevolutionNow protest was ordered to be released to his lead counsel and human rights activist, Mr Femi Falana SAN.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo issued the order in Abuja adding that the senior lawyer must produce him in court during trial days.
Justice Taiwo said the release was contingent on the grounds that the order of detention made on August 8, has lapsed and that Sowore has been in the custody of the federal government since August 2.
The judge had on August 8 while delivering ruling in an exparte application brought by the federal government ordered the detention of Sowore for a period of 45 days to enable officers of the Department of State Services, conclude investigation of alleged treasonable felony and other charges.
The court however ordered that Sowore would not be kept longer than the 45 days granted by it without a fresh application for his further detention.
The 45 days lapsed on September 21.
When the matter came up Monday, the court held that following the expiration of the detention order for 45 days and the absence of any application for Sowore’s further detention, the court is inclined to order for his release.
The prosecution had applied for the extension of the order by another 20 days but its counsel, Godwin Agbadua announced the withdrawal of the application of the motion, adding that the defenfant had already been charged with treasonable felony, money laundering as well as insulting the president charges.
Justice Taiwo in a short ruling held that there is no application before him for extension of the detention order and there is evidence that the prosecution has concluded its investigation of the defenfant,.
He accordingly ordered for the immediate release of Sowore with a caveat: hesubmits his international passport to the court.
Sowore was arrested in the early hours of Saturday August 2 in a hotel in Lagos by men of the DSS on account of the #RevolutionNow protest which he had spearheaded.
He was then moved to Abuja the following day and kept in the custody of the DSS where he has been till date.