Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of attempting to muzzle him using the same tactics employed by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking on Hard Copy, a Channels Television programme, Sowore alleged that the government was recycling the same strategy used in 2019 to detain him during the planned Revolution Now protests.
“Well, I think it is just a recycling of the same strategy that was used by the Buhari regime in 2019 when I was arrested during a planned protest known as Revolution Now,” he said.
“I was equally accused of terrorism financing. That was, in fact, what the Buhari regime used in getting a 45-day detention order against me from Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, now retired.”
Naija News reports that Sowore described previous allegations against him as unfounded and politically motivated.
“They also accused me of money laundering and also accused me of cybercrime. In fact, that was the first time I was accused of cybercrime or cyberbullying.
“They claim I was cyberbullying the president. Well, when we asked them to present the evidence of cyberbullying they ran away,” he said.
According to him, the government’s strategy was simply to blackball him with allegations that never stand in court.
“It’s a strategy to silence me, to blackball me into a situation where I have to be defending myself. They bring up these allegations but don’t present anything to the courts. That is what is wrong with our system,” he said.
‘Court Order on My Bank Accounts Violates My Rights’
On the recent court order directing the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to access his bank account details, Sowore described the move as unlawful.
“Typically I wouldn’t be worried about it, but because it’s a violation of my privacy, it’s a violation of my fundamental rights, and because I know what it’s all about, we are going to challenge the order,” he said.
He noted that his GTBank account remained frozen following actions allegedly taken by the DSS.
“My GTB account is still frozen. In fact, I’m in court against GTB and the DSS for illegally freezing my account. There’s nothing about my account or my life that is not public. But as citizens, we must ensure people don’t just take us for granted or violate our rights simply because it is convenient for them,” he added.
Sowore also dismissed claims that he forged a police wireless message.
“The claim that I forged a police wireless message… When they presented them before me, they were the same except that one had watermark over it. That’s not forgery. You can only forge a document if it emanated from a different person masquerading as another. You cannot forge a document that was made by the police just by putting a watermark on it,” he argued.
DSS Petitions 𝕏 Over Sowore’s Post
Naija News understands that the interview came before the DSS petitioned the social media platform 𝕏, demanding Sowore’s account be deactivated within 24 hours.
The DSS claimed that a tweet in which Sowore used an unprintable word against President Tinubu could incite unrest and urged the platform to act swiftly.
The post My Rights Under Attack, Tinubu Govt Trying To Silence Me – Sowore appeared first on Naija News.