You Have Insufficient Evidence Against Sowore, Drop Charges - American Bar Association To FG

The Center for Human Rights of the American Bar Association stated that the Nigerian Government has "insufficient evidence" against Sowore and all charges against him should be dropped.

In August 2019, Sowore was arrested for convening the #RevolutionNow protest against the federal government.

Charges of treason, among others, were slammed against him; charges to which he pleaded not guilty.

In November of the same year, he was granted bail, however, the conditions of the bail limited his movement to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Reacting to the issue, the human rights centre demanded that the federal government drops all charges against Sowore for lack of sufficient evidence.

It said, “The totality of the facts strongly suggests that the charges against Mr. Sowore were levied in retaliation for his political activism, in violation of his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and that the prosecution (first pursued by the DSS and then taken over by the AGF) has never possessed evidence on which to predicate allegations of criminal behaviour.

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“The conduct of the trial, including the prosecution’s repeated requests for adjournment and refusal to share key materials with the defense, is further indication that the State lacks evidence of anything but Mr. Sowore’s peaceable political activism.

“In light of the above, the DSS and AGF’s pursuit of the case against Mr. Sowore breaches prosecutorial ethics, which mandate that the State drop charges once it becomes apparent that the evidence is insufficient. The facts detailed above likewise give rise to a reasonable basis to conclude that the case is based on Mr. Sowore’s exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

“Sowore’s due process and fair trial rights have consistently been abused throughout the proceedings, breaching international and regional standards. Among other things, his pre-trial detention – at times in defiance of judicial orders to release him – was unlawful and arbitrary, and authorities denied him access to counsel while in custody.

“Given the risk that the proceedings will be prolonged indefinitely, the Center is releasing this preliminary report on the most egregious completed violations to date. Based on the violations, the AGF should drop the charges against Mr. Sowore, or the Federal High Court of Nigeria should dismiss the case. At the very least, Mr. Sowore should be permitted to return to the United States for the lengthy periods between scheduled hearings.”