A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted the DSS permission
to detain the convener of RevolutionNow, Omoyele Sowore, for 45 days.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo, ruling on an ex parte application by
the State Security Service, whose operatives arrested Sowore last Saturday,
held that the detention order would be renewable after the expiration of first
45 days on September 21.
The SSS had on Tuesday applied for permission to keep Sowore
for 90 days to investigate him over his call for revolution ahead of the
RevolutionNow protests which held in some parts of the country on Monday July
5. The security agency anchored its application on the provision of section
27(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention) Amendment Act.
Ruling on ex parte application, a one-sided request by the
SSS without counter-argument by Sowore’s legal team, Justice Taiwo, said he had
to grant the application, “only to the extent” of allowing the security agency
to keep the respondent in custody for only 45 days for the applicant to
conclude its investigation.
He said, although the hearing of the application was
one-sided as provided by 27(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention) Amendment Act, the
use of the word, “may”, in the provision
“is directory” and not “discretionary”.
He said he would therefore, be failing in his duty not to
grant the request for a detention order. He also said should the applicant
require more time to conclude its investigation after the expiration of the
first 45 days, it had the liberty to apply for its renewal.
