I’m A Presidential Candidate, DSS Wants To Silence Me – Sowore Cries Out

News publisher and human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, has alleged that the federal government, through the Department of State Services (DSS), is trying to silence him.

According to him, the case against him is simply because he speaks out in defence of Nigerians and against injustice, not because he has committed any offence.

Naija News reports that Sowore made the declaration on Monday while addressing newsmen at the Federal High Court in Abuja, after the court session where he is standing trial for referring to President Bola Tinubu as a ‘criminal.’

The 2027 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), insisted that the case against him is politically motivated and formed part of a broader campaign to silence his voice and activism.

“I’m not appearing here because I committed any crime. I’m in court, and I’m being persecuted because I decided to stand up to be counted on the side of rights in this country.

“I will never be part of the people who will steal your money. I will never be part of the people who will murder somebody because they don’t agree with me. I will never be in this country, or be a citizen of any country in the world, particularly Nigeria, and watch while they sink your destinies,” he said.

Speaking further, Sowore declared that Monday’s court appearance was a major success, adding that as a presidential candidate, he is ready to discuss national issues.

“I am a presidential candidate, so I need to discuss serious national issues. I want to announce to you today that even the prosecutor, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said that he is waiting for me to convince him so that he can vote for me in the election.

“That is progress made today. We are close to winning the election. This is an attempt to clear himself of bias,” he said.

When asked about his recent detention, Sowore dismissed the question, insisting that his ordeal was far from over because the authorities were still attempting to return him to prison.

He added that the matter is still ongoing.

“Incarceration and experience with incarceration is not something I pay attention to, considering that even today I was supposed to go back to prison again.

“So an experience that has not been concluded cannot become a matter for discussion. It is an ongoing issue. And my persecution is also an ongoing concern.

“Don’t worry about it. If I tell you my experience now, if I write a book, most of you will not buy it. And I have a duty to raise money,” Sowore said.

Responding to another question on whether he was treated fairly while in custody, Sowore rejected the notion that fairness could exist in prison for someone who had not been convicted of any offence.

“There is no fair treatment for somebody who has not been committed. We can’t even say that,” Sowore said.

“We are talking about prison. I made it clear last week when I spoke to the media. They called it the correctional centre, but for me, it was prison.

“Nobody should be correcting a person who is correcting society. That’s the job I do in this country.”

He, however, insisted that despite the challenging experiences, he won’t back down from saying the truth to those in power.

He also expressed confidence in the ability of his lawyers.

“Listen, no matter what they do to you in this country, no matter what it turns into, look at me very well today, I remain the conscience of this nation. And I’m not the only one. All these people are the conscience of this nation. Some of you are the conscience of the nation.

“We are dealing with conscienceless power. But when conscienceless power meets a powerful conscience, it collapses.”

He praised members of his legal team, supporters and activists who have continued to attend his court proceedings from across Nigeria, saying many people around the world are following the case.

“Sometimes in the history of mankind, people like us come once in a while. When I say people like us, I mean many of us here.

“Our lawyers have to spend countless hours defending this case. We have activists who come here from across the country. There are people watching us from all over the world,” he said.

Sowore said his concern goes beyond his personal trial, insisting that Nigeria’s real challenges include insecurity, poverty, poor healthcare and economic hardship.

“They are trying to figure out what will happen to us. They’ve already known that I’ve been singled out to be maltreated,” the presidential candidate said.

“But what will happen to this country? How can children who are abducted be reunited with their families? How can we travel safely in our country? How can people who are working earn a living wage?

“How can hospitals attend to diseases that are not ours? How can our economic system empower us without disenfranchisement?

“We are talking about this country where characters are running fake agencies. And the people who are behind them are paying them and putting them in their pockets.

“So, we are living in that country regardless of the risks involved.”

According to him, the repeated prosecutions and attempts to remand him are ultimately aimed at silencing his voice.

“It is about how to make Sowore not talk. That’s the whole thing,” he said.

“The judge had to say, ‘I did not give him an order that he should not talk.’

“But it’s all about making sure he doesn’t talk. The anxiety is: ‘He’s going to talk, he’s going to talk, he’s going to talk.’

“So they ask, ‘Why not make sure he doesn’t talk?’”

“That tells you something. There is power in our voice,” he added.