The legal team of Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, has rejected a possible offer by President, Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, Apostle Johnson Suleman, to stand surety for the detained activist.
Suleman had in a tweet on Monday expressed concerns that though Sowore had hurt many people in the past — including Suleman himself — he is of the opinion that Sowore should not be allowed to “rot where he is.”
However, one of Sowore’s lawyers, Inibehe Effiong, told The PUNCH that Suleman was not eligible to stand surety for the detained activist.
Effiong said the court was clear that the surety must be resident in Abuja.
He further stated that the cleric had been involved in a public spat with Sowore and therefore, there was conflict of interest.
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The lawyer said the challenge Sowore had was that the Federal Government had seriously politicised the matter thereby discouraging people from standing surety for his client.
Effiong, however, said he was confident that the activist would meet his bail conditions soon.
He said, “His (Suleman’s) offer cannot be considered let alone accepted. The man who is making the offer is on record of having had a public altercation with Sowore. So, there will be no basis for Sowore to consider it.
“The court stated that the surety must be resident in Abuja and the last time I checked, he was not resident in Abuja. So, I am not sure he is eligible to stand surety for him. So there is no way Sowore can accept such an offer.
“So, we are turning it down and we are not even considering it. The way the Federal Government politicised the matter, made it difficult for the bail conditions to be met. But we are in the process of perfecting the bail.”
Sowore had in a report published through his platform, accused Suleman of engaging in extra-marital affairs with a woman known as Stephanie Otobo.
The activist, who is the Convener of #RevolutionNow, was arrested by the Department of State Services on August 2, 2019, for allegedly trying to overthrow the President Muhammadu Buhari government.
The activist, who was the Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, has remained in the custody of the DSS ever since.
