BREAKING: We Are Still Investigating Sowore’s Phones For Links With Terrorism— Secret Police, DSS Tells Federal Judge
The Department of State Services (DSS) has indicated that it is still examining the mobile phones confiscated from Omoyele Sowore, a pro-democracy campaigner and human rights activist, in August 2019.
Sowore, the proprietor of SaharaReporters, had filed a lawsuit against the DSS, demanding that the agency release his phones, which had been taken since his arrest in August 2019.
The case was heard by Justice Anwuli Chikere of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday.
Mrs Funmi Falana, Sowore’s counsel, pressed the DSS lawyer on the illegality of the seizures in her opening remarks.
The DSS lawyer rambled on while attempting to explain why the lawless organization, which is notorious for human rights breaches, was unable to present a proper court order that allowed them to confiscate the phones and steal N10,000 from his hotel room during his kidnapping in August 2019.
The phones were “recovered” during his detention, not seized, the DSS said Justice Chikere.
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The phones are currently being scrutinized for any links to terrorism, according to the agency.
Because Sowore was being tried by a different federal judge, two lawyers from the Ministry of Justice stated that they were presenting preliminary objections to the lawsuit.
Falana, on the other hand, criticized the arguments, telling the judge that, in addition to failing to get a court order to seize the phones, the government had also refused to restore the phones and funds after repeated requests.
She went on to say that the charge papers in court did not specify that the phones were part of the evidence presented to the federal judge.
She requested the judge to dismiss the preliminary objections, order the return of Sowore’s phones, and award the petitioner N20 million in damages.
The case has been delayed until December 8, 2021, when Justice Chikere will rule.
Though the DSS released Sowore following an order from the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), SaharaReporters reported on December 24, 2019, that officials of the secret police failed to return his mobile phones, ostensibly in an attempt to monitor his communication and deprive him of important contacts stored on the devices.
Sowore was detained for the first time on August 3, 2019, after calling for Nigerians to come to the streets in peaceful protests to demand that the government provide a better country.
He was held in custody until December 5, 2019, when he was freed on bond for a short time.
DSS operatives re-arrested him on December 6 inside the Federal High Court in Abuja, and he was held in detention until Tuesday, December 24, 2019, when Malami issued the current release order.
