On Wednesday, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to compensate Omoyele Sowore, the Convener of #RevolutionNow, N2 million for the illegal seizure of his phone at the time of his detention in 2019.
In a sentence, Justice Anwuli Chikere also ordered the DSS to immediately release the iPhones and the sum of N10,000 that were allegedly confiscated from him without a court warrant.
As seen by InsightnaijaTV, Sowore claimed in a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by his lawyer, Funmi Falana, that DSS operatives took his iPhones and N10,000 when he was arrested on treasonable felony and terrorism charges on Aug. 3, 2019, at a hotel in Lagos.
The DSS, the first defendant in the case, was also directed to issue an apology in two national dailies within two months, according to the judge.
The confiscation of the publisher of SaharaReporters’ personal property, according to Chikere, was “illegal, unconstitutional, null and invalid, and a severe breach of his fundamental rights as contained in the 1999 Constitution.”
She claimed that the DSS should have acquired a court order before seizing his possessions, and that the seizure may no longer be considered “temporary” since 2019.
The judge also ruled that the DSS’s assertion that his phones had been under investigation since 2019 because of his claimed ties to terrorists was unsustainable, illegal, and unconstitutional.
When asked about the verdict, Sowore’s lawyer, Falana, expressed joy and regarded it as a win for justice.
InsightnaijaTV reports that the DSS told the court on December 1 that it was still probing Sowore’s cell phones, which were still in its custody.
Contrary to the charges, the phones were “recovered” rather than “seized” during his detention, according to the security firm.
The phones are currently being scrutinized for any links to terrorism, according to the agency.
Falana, on the other hand, had challenged the DSS on the constitutionality of the seizure in the absence of a proper court warrant.
She requested the judge to dismiss the preliminary objections, order the return of Sowore’s phones, and award the petitioner N20 million in damages.
