Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun to cancel alleged illegal and stringent bail conditions slammed on Omoyele Sowore.
Sowore, the presidential candidate of AAC in the 2023 Nigeria’s general elections was arrested on Monday for alleged cyberstalking and was asked to produce a surety who is a Grade Level 17 officer in the Federal Public Service take him on bail.
Reacting to the development, Falana described the bail condition as illegal and urged the police boss to cancel it and set Sowore free.
He stated, “Yesterday, the authorities of the Nigeria Police Force arrested Mr. Omoyele Sowore for alleged cyberstalking. In admitting him to bail, the suspect was asked to produce a surety who is a Grade Level 17 officer in the Federal Public Service.
“It is pertinent to draw the attention of the Nigeria Police Force and other law enforcement agencies in Nigeria to fact that the Court of Appeal declared the involve Force of top level civil servants in the bail of criminal suspects in the the case of Dasuki V. Director-General, S.S.S. [2020]10 NWLR PT.1731 PG. 136-143 where Adah JCA (now JSC) held as follows:
“Let me quickly say that of concern it is to us that as a court we must be ready and sensitive enough not to allow or do anything that will run foul of the law. The issue of involving civil servants or Public Officers in the Public Service of the Federation and the State in bail of people accused of criminal offences has never been the practice in Nigeria or any part of the civilized world. It was an oversight on our part to allow it in. Our Civil and Public Service Rules do not have any room for it. Expecting a Level 16 Servant to own property worth N100,000,000, will be running counter to the Public Service Rules and by extension the war against corruption. It is in this respect that I will act ex debito justitiae to ensure that the aspect of involving serving Public Servant below the status of Level 16 Officer in either the state or Public Service of the Federation or any of its agencies be removed and I so order.”
“In view of the clear and unambiguous state of the law, we are compelled to call on the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Kayode Egbetokun, to cancel the illegal bail condition for Mr. Omoyele Sowore and release him from police custody without any further delay.”
The Daily Crucible reports that Omoyele Sowore, was on Monday night detained by the police authorities in Abuja after refusing to accept bail conditions imposed on him after interrogation.
Sowore announced it on his verified Facebook page that the police were holding him in custody until further notice following his “refusal to accept their illegal bail condition”..
He said: “It is a wrap! The Nigeria Police Force is holding me in custody until further notice, following my refusal to accept their illegal bail condition.”
The police granted him bail after interrogating him on Monday at the Force Intelligence Department (FID) complex in Abuja.
But the activist described the bail conditions, including the provision of a level 17 civil servant as a surety and surrendering his passport to the police, as “illegal”.
Sowore, on his Facebook page, said: “The interview revolved around Sowore’s comments on police officers in Lagos, who were operating an unauthorized checkpoint to extort motorists, thereby causing significant traffic congestion at the busy international airport road.
“Sowore admonished the officers, pointing out that their actions were causing traffic and urging them to cease their illegal activities. When instructed to park, seemingly to facilitate extortion, Sowore refused, requesting to speak with their supervisor, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos.
“The police subsequently asked Sowore to leave. The incident was captured on camera, and Sowore uploaded the footage to his Facebook page and other social media handles. During today’s interview, the two police officers were unable to provide a basic response to Sowore’s initial question, which asked them to identify the location of the alleged crime in Lagos.
“Further questioning was suspended, and Sowore was asked to prepare a written defense. However, Sowore chose not to provide a written statement and instead requested that his statement be electronically recorded and transcribed for his verification.
“The police team conducting the interviews temporarily left and returned with their supervisor, Mr. Galandanchi, who stated that Sowore’s bail had been approved and that the conditions would be communicated by the interviewing officers. Sowore notified Galandanchi that he would not accept bail under conditions that jeopardized his innocence, integrity, and fundamental rights.
“As anticipated, the police officers returned with typewritten conditions that stipulated Sowore surrender his international passport and provide a senior civil servant employed by the federal government at level 17; Sowore promptly declined these conditions and informed the police officers.
“Several hours later, the police officers returned and stated that Mr. Galandanchi had reviewed the bail conditions, revising the requirement to a level 16 officer in the civil service, and asserted that Sowore’s lawyer, the prominent Nigerian human rights attorney Femi Falana SAN, had negotiated with them.
“However, Mr. Falana shared a note he sent to Galandanchi, reminding him that courts have consistently ruled that requiring civil servants to serve as guarantors in police bail processes is unlawful.
“At the end of the interrogation, Mr. Sowore was taken to a police detention center, specifically the “Abattoir” unit. The PoliceNG team assigned to my case has informed me that the DIG of FID, Dasuki Galandachi, has reevaluated my bail conditions, necessitating the production of a level 16 civil servant and the surrender of my international passport, a condition I have declined outright.
“I refuse to participate in any arrangement that undermines my personal integrity.”
