Opeyemi Bamidele, Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights, has said President Muhammadu Buhari released former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), and Omoyele Sowore, #RevolutionNow Convener, from detention to correct the overzealousness of the Department of States Services (DSS).
Recalled that the DSS rearrested Sowore in court, less than 24 hours after he was released last month.
The incident led to national and international condemnation over the conduct of the DSS.
More so, Dasuki has been in DSS detention since December 2015 without trial, over alleged misappropriation of $2.1 billion meant for procurement of arms under ex-president, Goodluck Jonathan.
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However, both men were releases on Tuesday, following continued public outcry and foreign intervention.
Speaking on the development in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Bamidele was quoted by The Nation as saying that the release of the two men disapproved the claim that the judicial arm of government was being tele-guided by Buhari-led government.
He also praised the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, for acting promptly on the instruction of the president.
He said: “It is trite that the rule of law is the bedrock of any democracy. It is the fulcrum on which democracy hangs and survives. No nation can joke with it.
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“The All Progressives Congress (APC) was circumspect about this fact and had been aligning itself with this reality, in actions and policies,” he said.
“The fact that President Buhari, through the instrumentality of the AGF, acted swiftly to correct the embarrassment caused by overzealous DSS operatives, who invaded a sitting court to arrest Sowore, vividly confirmed that the APC believes in the rule of law and the sanctity of the temple of justice.
“We are particularly elated by the Federal Government’s gesture because it will go a long way in further establishing the fact that Nigeria is not a pariah state. When leaders venerate the Judiciary, it deepens democracy and tames tendencies for anarchical actions that could truncate the system.
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“It was in line with that tenet to strengthen the Judiciary and the rule of law that the Federal Government, through the Office of the AGF, took over Sowore’s case from DSS and some other corruption cases from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“I appeal to all the agencies of government vested with prosecutorial powers to always bury their emotions and exercise caution while dealing with issues, to protect the integrity of the Buhari-led government, whose respect for the Judiciary has serially been demonstrated and amplified.”
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