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‘Frivolous, vexatious and contemptuous,’ Sowore says on DSS latest attempt to transfer him to correctional facility

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I am not a Terrorist, Sowore replies DSS in counter affidavit

The detained convener of the RevolutionNow protest, Omoyele Sowore, on Tuesday rejected a fresh application filed by the Department of State Service (DSS) at the Federal High Court, Abuja, to transfer him to a correctional facility.

Sowore, who has been in detention since August 2, accused the DSS of deliberately frustrating the execution of the court order that granted bail to him and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare.

The duo, in a preliminary objection they filed through their lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), described the application to hand them over to the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) as “frivolous, vexatious and a contemptuous abuse of the judicial process.”

They hinged their objection to the request on sections 6(6) (b), 35 and 36 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

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Falana said: “The application was filed by the Complainant/Applicant to frustrate the execution of the order of release of the 1st and 2nd Defendants/Objectors from the custody of the State Security Service made by this Honourable Court on the 6th November, 2019.

“There is no genuine intention to prosecute the 1st and 2nd Defendants by the Complainant/Applicant as the statement of witnesses this Honourable Court ordered to be availed the Defence team is yet to be issued and served.

“The grounds upon which the Complainant’s/Applicant’s application is hinged are frivolous, vexatious, contemptuous, manifestly unarguable and unknown to law.”

In a supporting affidavit that was deposed to by Marshal Abubakar, a lawyer in Falana’s law chamber, he explained how the DSS allegedly thwarted efforts to secure the duo’s release from detention.

He told the court that the agency had at a point, claimed that Sowore would be knocked down by a vehicle if released from custody.

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