“We stood out ground despite threats, attacks…” – Omoyele Sowore

Human rights Activist Omoyele Sowore says he has been vindicated on one front with the Nigerian government’s termination of “idiosyncratic treason trial (Persecution) against me and several other revolutionary comrades across Nigeria”.

A Notice of Discontinuance stamped by the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday and signed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) on Wednesday, said the complainant (Federal Government of Nigeria) would discontinue the case.

Reacting to the development, Sowore said that though the Nigerian Government has terminated its case, it will not terminate the struggle for justice and liberty of Nigerians.

He recalled that “five years ago, the Federal Government of Nigeria commenced a fruitlessly malicious, tendencious, and idiosyncratic treason trial (Persecution) against me and several other revolutionary comrades across Nigeria”.

He continued, “We stood our ground and began a historic journey to liberate our country, despite threats, assassination of family members, state-sponsored violence and targeted attacks by security forces. We promised never to back down.

“Today, we have been vindicated on one front, the Nigerian government has terminated its own case against me, but we will not terminate our struggle for justice and liberty of our compatriots.

“We warned the @MBuhari (former President Muhammadu Buhari) regime and those who followed his ruinous path that they will face ultimate disgrace before long. We salute our revolutionary comrades,” he said.

In a 2019 video, Sowore maintained that he and his colleagues did not want war. He, however, noted that unless the criminals who had held the country down were bundled out of the system, things would never get better.

He said, “So that we can all be exterminated at once, we don’t want war,” he said, adding that they want a very clean revolutionary process that would “put an end to shenanigans of government, that will put an end to oppression and the corruption of government.

“I mean, look at it, you have ministers who have active cases in EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for various criminal cases) asked to bow and go in our National Assembly. You have ministers who have been engaging in high crimes. We have a President that is insensitive to the plight of the country that is falling apart.”

He insisted that Nigeria has failed, and unless “Nigerians bound together and bundle these guys out of our national space, we are wasting our time”.

He added, “Don’t ask me whether I am afraid or worried about the legal implications of what I am saying. I am carrying out a historical duty – only history can judge me not a prosecutor or a federal judge.

“I am not worried about that, you can’t kill somebody without being afraid of death and if I am afraid of death, am I better than these people in Zamfara who are getting slaughtered every day?

“Am I better than those people who get killed by so-called kidnappers who just walk into the middle of the road with an AK-47, kill people, and walk quietly back into the bush? Am I better than students who are getting rusticated for speaking out on campuses?

“Am I better than those kids who died before they could even see Nigeria that they wanted to badly be? Am I better than women who can’t afford to eat? Am I better than those workers who are not getting paid? Am I better than people who are suffering all over the country?”