Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka issues strong warning to Buhari’s government over Sowore’s detention, charges

Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, has said that the Muhammadu Buhari administration has attained an “unprecedented level of paranoia”, following the charges of treason filed against the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore.

The Federal Government had on Friday, filed seven counts of treasonable felony and money laundering against Sowore.

The charges were filed a day before the expiration of the detention order of the Federal High Court in Abuja, permitting the Department of State Services (DSS) to keep the activist for 45 days.

In a statement on Saturday, Soyinka said the nation had failed to learn from past experiences.

“This is utterly depressing news. So, the Sowore affair has moved beyond harassment and taken on a sinister direction. Outside the country where I happened to be engaged at the moment, I can testify that the immediate reaction around me was to dismiss this as yet another grotesque product of fake news, of which Nigerians have become the greatest practitioners.

“I confess that I also joined in this school of thought – at the start.

“Further checks have however confirmed that this government has indeed attained an unprecedented level of paranoia. I do not believe that the Justice department itself believes in these improbable charges, as formally publicised.

“So, once again, we inscribe in our annals another season of treasonable felony, History still guards some lessons we have yet to digest, much less from which to learn. Welcome to the Club, Mr. Omoyele Sowore,” Soyinka said.