Senior advocate of Nigeria and foremost human rights advocate, Femi Falana, has stated that the federal government will be making a mistake if it files charges against the convener of the RevolutionNow movement, Omoyele Sowore.
Falana made the comment on Tuesday, while speaking at an event organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), The Cable reports.
Without mentioning President Muhammadu Buhari’s name, Falana said Sowore had briefed him from detention and that his first witness would be someone in government who in 2011 also called for a revolution, if the latter was charged.
Buhari had called for revolution in Nigeria – although through an electoral process – as a presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).
Falana also disclosed that Sowore had refused to write a statement, insisting that the DSS allow him speak to his lawyer.
The legal luminary stated: “I do hope that the government will not be stupid to charge Sowore. In fairness to them (DSS), they gave him a telephone to phone me. Of course I knew they were monitoring the phone, and I told him I hope they won’t charge you, because if they do, some of the people in government will be our witnesses.
“You know why? One of them, I won’t mention his name. In 2011, he asked Nigerians to learn from the Egyptian revolution and be ready for a revolution in Nigeria. So, he will be my first witness.
“The late Chief Gani Fawehinmi and four other people were charged with treasonable felony by the Ibrahim Babangida junta. I was one of them.
“We were detained in Kuje prison for two months. We were taken to the court, and what was the offence? I think we went beyond Sowore. We posted thousands of posters across the country that Babangida must go. That was the treasonable felony.”
Falana disclosed that at the time, he and Fawehinmi’s argument was that Babangida had not come to office via constitutional means.
He added that someday too, those currently in government who are harassing Nigerians with treason, would be tried for the same offense.
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