No fewer than 65 RevolutionNow campaigners are facing trial in different courts across the federation for participating in the August 4 national protest organized to demand for a better Nigeria, the Coalition for Revolution (CORE) has said.
Apart from those still standing trial across the federation, the coalition said three of the campaigners including the presidential candidate of African Action Congress (ACC) and Publishers of Sahara Reporters, Mr. Omoyele Sowore are still held illegally in detention.
The figures are contained in a statement Co-Convener of RevolutionNow, Mr. Olaseni Ajai and his counterpart, Mr. Baba Aye issued Saturday, disclosing that a coalition of human rights activists had slated September 18 to protest their illegal detention.
Sowore is the convener of #RevolutionNow protest first held on August 5 across the federation to demand for a better Nigeria and protest alleged misrule and misgovernance of the country under President Muhammadu Buhari.
CORE, an initiative of Nigerian masses and youths, is purely aimed at overthrowing the corrupt and warped political system being operated by the country as well as changing the oppressive ruling class in Nigeria.
Dissatisfied with the mission of the #RevolutionNow, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested Sowore. Since Sowore’s arrest on August 2, he has remained in detention for alleged threat to public safety, peaceful co-existence and social harmony in the country.
In its statement yesterday, the coalition lamented that the three of the#RevolutionNow “are being held without trial. It is now 30 days since Sowore’s illegal abduction and detention, 26 days for Olawale Adebayo and nine days for Agba Jalingo.”
The coalition, also, disclosed that over 65 comrades “are still facing trial for participating in the Aug 5 protests nationally. All these are attacks on our fundamental human rights and we are determined to stand our grounds in defence of our rights.”
It equally revealed that it had “fixed September 18 for a day of agitation against detention without trial and for the demands of #RevolutionNow. We are calling for the immediate release of all political prisoners been held without trial and for #RevolutionNow demands.”
It explained the first task of the revolution, which according to the coalition, was “to ensure the freeing of the minds and conscious realisation of why our society is in crises. We are all participants in this movement and all our actions when combined would expose the true state of affairs and the enormous strength of the masses and youth.”
Apart from plan to stage another protest, the coalition disclosed that it had embarked on “series of consultations with all organisations and activists that we had been working with and those that had moved into struggle in response to the call for action to save humanity.
“These consultations are with the intention of building a united front of activists on the side of the oppressed and exploited against those responsible for the collapse of our society and those attacking the democratic rights that the Nigerian masses had won over the years.”
It noted that none of the demands of CORE “has been addressed in anyway; rather we are seeing an intensification of further economic attacks on the Nigerian masses and none implementation of wage increment. The tariff on electricity is to go up along with many more.
“These attacks and further society collapse only strengthen our resolve to continue with our campaign for the release of all political prisoners and for #RevolutionNow demands. A revolutionary process is not a one-day affair. It starts with the concrete desire for change by the masses and youth.
“We have deepened our unity with the organizations and activists working together with the CORE across the country and united we are demanding for the immediate release of Sowore and all political prisoners,” the coalition said.
