After 142 days in detention, the Department of State Services has released rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the February 2019 general elections, Omoyele Sowore.
His co-detainee, Adebayo Bakare, was also freed.
They were freed hours after Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court in Abuja had given the DSS 24-hour ultimatum to release the two men.
Their lead defence counsel, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), confirmed they were released about 7 pm on Thursday.
He said “they were released about 30 minutes ago. They were released to one of our lawyers,” he said.
Sowore and Bakare, who are now being prosecuted by the Federal Government on charges of treasonable felony, were arrested in August over their call for ‘Revolution’ protest against what they described as “bad governance.”
But the DSS had continued to hold them in custody despite separate court orders ordering their release.
It came to a head-on Thursday when the judge, who frowned at the conduct of the DSS, issued a fresh order directing the agency to release them within 24 hours.
