Sowore Breaks Silence As DSS Reportedly Upgrades Status on Watchlist

Sowore Breaks Silence As DSS Reportedly Upgrades Status on Watchlist

  • Omoyele Sowore has reacted differently as the DSS reportedly upgraded his status on its watchlist
  • Sowore shared a copy of the memo he claimed to have received from the DSS and alleged that the DSS had ordered his arrest upon arrival in Nigeria and had also declared him wanted
  • The rights activist on Thursday took to his social media platform to slam the secret police and vowed that he would return home soon to continue his activism

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

Omoyele Sowore, a human rights activist and the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 election, has criticised the Department of State Services (DSS) for upgrading his status and name on its “watchlist.”

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Sowore speaks on alleged by arrest
Activist Sowore claimed DSS had ordered his arrest and upgraded his status on its watchlist. Photo credit: @yelesowore, @OfficialDSSNG
Source: Twitter

The activist shared a copy of the DSS signal, which indicated that his status was upgraded with The Punch on Thursday, September 12.

The signal, Dated August 16, 2024, and signed by Adeola Ali, ordered DSS operatives to arrest Sowore upon his arrival in the country.

It read:

“I am directed to inform you that the DSS DG has approved the upgrading of Watchlist B ( Report arrival and destination by telephone immediately ) to Watchlist F (Detain traveller and escort with baggage to National Headquarters. Vide DSE: 9A/6201 against Omoyele Sowore, an activist and founder of Sahara Reporters. This is for your strict compliance.“

Reacting, Sowore vowed to return home very soon despite the directives.

He said:

“The current administration, led by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has demonstrated an upgraded inability to effectively track and apprehend terrorism suspects, bandits, and kidnappers, while the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has yet to arrest former Kogi state governor Yahaya Bello.

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“Meanwhile, the DSS has upgraded my status and name on their “watchlist” for arrest upon arrival in Nigeria.
“It is imperative to recognise that our country, Nigeria, requires salvation, and our people need liberation, which will necessitate considerable effort.
“We cannot stop because we have some misguided elements running our country because they hijacked power, illegitimately. I intend to return home shortly, I mean VERY SOON.”

As of the time of filing this report, the DSS is yet to react to the development.

Meanwhile, activist lawyer, Deji Adeyanju on Monday, criticized the President Bola Tinubu-led government over the arrest of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC President, Joe Ajaero and invasion of the office of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), by the Department of State Services, DSS.

Adeyanju told DailyPost that the next people to be arrested by the Tinubu-led government are former presidential candidates Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and Omoyele Sowore.

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Read more about Omoyele Sowore, DSS here:

Aide debunks DSS' alleged arrest of Peter Obi, wife

In another development, Legit.ng reported that Val Obienyem, Media Adviser to Peter Obi, has refuted false claims that Obi was arrested by the DSS at his Anambra State home, describing the rumors as baseless.

Obienyem clarified that Obi was in Rwanda on official engagements at the time of the alleged incident and is currently in Edo State, not Anambra.

The Media Adviser also dismissed the rumor about Obi’s wife being arrested as a deliberate attempt to spread misinformation and create panic.

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Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Esther Odili avatar

Esther Odili (Politics and Current Affairs Editor) Esther Odili is a journalist and a Politics/Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng with 6+ years of experience. Before joining Legit.ng, Esther has worked with other reputable media houses, such as the New Telegraph newspaper and Galaxy Television. She Holds OND and HND in Mass Communication from NIJ, where she was recognized as the best student in print journalism in 2018. Email: esther.odili@corp.legit.ng.