Revolutionnow protesters arrested in Osun may be detained for 14 days as DSS obtains detention order

Members of the RevolutionNow movement arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, in Osun state may be held by the police for 14 days.

The DSS has obtained a detention order to detain seven members of the movement arrested during the protest.

Despite the detention order, Alfred Adegoke, Counsel to the protesters has said that bail application could still be entertained, ThePunch reports.

He said, “The DSS got ex parte order to detain them (the protesters) for 14 days pending the conclusion of investigation. A lawyer I sent their earlier brought back that report. The lawyer spoke with the Director and they said he should talk to the Legal Officer.

“They said despite the detention order they got, application for bail can still be made. They asked him to come back tomorrow (Thursday).”

Meanwhile, in a statement on Wednesday, the Movement for a Socialist Alternative has demanded immediate release of the protesters.

Police in Abuja cracked down on RevolutionNow protesters [Twitter/@YeleSowore] Pulse Nigeria

In the statement titled ‘Free Dunnex Samuel and other activists arrested for converging for peaceful protests’, the group’s spokesperson, Dagga Tolar described the protesters’ arrest as an act of terror, saying the protesters were only exercising their lawful rights to speak out loudly against the oppressive conditions obtainable across the country.

The statement reads in part; “We demand their immediate and unconditional release. We condemn this tradition of using the DSS to repress every lawful opposition to the oppressive regime of Muhammadu Buhari.

“Nigerians cannot have it, as the regime is suggesting, that they are a conquered people in their own country, who cannot express their dissatisfaction, no matter how peaceful, against the daily hardship and oppression they suffer in the hands of the capitalist hordes Buhari is representing”.

Police operatives cracked down on Revolutionnow protesters in different parts of the country, where the protest held on Wednesday.

The nationwide protests were first held exactly one year ago against the alleged incompetence and corruption in the Nigerian government led by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The convener of the protest, Omoyele Sowore, was arrested by the Department of State Service (DSS) last year and accused of threatening the harmony of the nation by plotting to overthrow a democratically-elected government.