By Alex Enumah in Abuja
The federal government on Monday brought detained Convener of #RevolutionNow protest, Omoyele Sowore, to court for arraignment on a seven count charge bordering on treasonable felony and money laundering.
Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the February 23 presidential election has been in custody of the Department of State Service (DSS) since August 8 on the order of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
He came into the court at exactly 9.15am escorted by security operatives.
However when the case was called, counsel to Sowore and Olawale Bakare informed the court that they were not in a position to take their plea.
According to them, they have not have access to their lawyers who would have properly briefed them on the charges.
Counsel to the defendants, A. Olumide SAN, said part of the process of arraignment was that the defendants should have access to their lawyers before they can take their plea.
He further informed the court that lead counsel to the defendants, Femi Falana, had in the last one week spent the whole day at the office of the Department of State Service (DSS), Abuja where Sowore is being detained for nearly 60 days trying to secure Sowore’s release in line with an order of the court.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court had on September 24 ordered the immediate release of Sowore following the expiration of an earlier order for his detention for 45 days.
As part of the conditions, Sowore was ordered to deposit his international passport with the Deputy Registrar of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
He was to be released to his lawyer, Falana SAN, who must produce him for trial anytime.
Olumide told the court that though the charge was served on the defendants on September 20, he only saw it this morning through one of the defendants, adding that Falana only called him on Sunday to ask him to stand in for him after he learnt from media reports that the defendants would be arraigned Monday.
Olumide speaking further submitted that the defendants were not ready to take their plea because the prosecution was yet to comply with the order of Justice Taiwo on the release of Sowore.
Details later…
