Human Rights Activist and Head of Centre for Change. Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, has condemned the arrest by the Police of activist and politician, Mr Omoyele Sowore, saying that it was undemocratic and unlawful.
Sowore was arrested in Abuja on Friday shortly after being granted bail at the Magistrate Court.
Okei–Odumakin in a statement Saturday said “one would have expected that the Nigeria Correctional Service take custody of a defendant that fails to perfect his or her bail. But to our greatest surprise, the police usurped such constitutional responsibility of the Correctional Service, it is the most irresponsible and unlawful act of a law enforcement agency. “
She asserted that the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Nigeria is a signatory, guarantee the rights of everyone to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
“Democratic governance in Nigeria was birthed with the blood of innocent citizens and patriots, whose blood continues to seek for justice, deepening democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law.,” she said.
Okei-Odumakin therefore, called on the Federal Government to follow the rule of law and abide by the decisions of the court to release Sowore and other protesters that were arrested.
“There is no democracy without the right of dissenting voices as protest is never a crime. There is a rise in human rights violations in Nigeria and this is antithetical to democratic governance,” she said.
