Immediate-past Chairman of the Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Bar
Association, Adesina Ogunlana, has condemned the flagrant disregard of a court
order by the Department of State Services by refusing to release pro-democracy
campaigner and Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, from detention.
Ogunlana also faulted the Presidency and executive arm of government for
failing to comply with the court order and planning to re-arraign Sowore before
another judge.
Ogunlana, who is the Convener of Citizens' Rally against Oppression,
urged all legal practitioners in the country to protest recent actions aimed at
belittling the profession.
He also called on the National President of the Nigerian Bar Association
to lead the action in resisting the move against the constitution.
He said, “There is a need to reposition the Nigerian Bar Association as
a social force against impunity.
“Lawyers must arise through their branches of the Nigerian Bar
Association to pass resolutions at their October 2019 monthly branch meetings
to organise series of civic actions to protest the rape of the independence of
the judiciary as witnessed in the last one week.
“The Paul Usoro-led national leadership must spring into action on this
latest attack on the judiciary by issuing a strong worded statement against the
attack and also take a decisive resolution up to declaration of mass protests,
judiciary strike and court boycott until sanity is restored.”
The DSS plans to secretly arraign Sowore before Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu on
a fresh seven-count charge on Monday after refusing to honour last Tuesday’s
order of Federal High Court, Abuja, directing Sowore to be released.
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