Former minister of education, Oby Ezekwesili, has said that she called human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, to thank him for being the country’s “true public defender”.
Mrs Ezekwesili, in a tweet on Saturday, said Mr Falana’s work is evident in his representation as counsel of the convener of #RevolutionNow protest, Omoyele Sowore.
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Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, who has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since August 3, is being tried on seven counts of treasonable felony and other sundry offences by the Federal Government.
Ezekwesili, however, thanked Falana for also representing the Bring Back Our Girls Group (BBOG) which she co-founded to press the government to act decisively in releasing schoolgirls who are in Boko Haram captivity.
“I called my dear friend& brother – Femi Falana to thank him for being the number 1 true Public Defender, we all can count on as we see in the @YeleSowore unjust trial. He is our @BBOG_Nigeria lawyer that got us victory against @NigeriaGov in 2014. He will win this Yele’s case,” she said.
“However discouraging the situation of the country gets, there are bright-spots in the kind of public interest legal work that Femi Falana does; whether for @BBOG_Nigeria or for @YeleSowore. And work of @SERAPNigeria @EiENigeria @BudgITng @Connected_dev @TrackaNG @PickThatTrash.”
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Ezekwesili had on Friday raised concern over the N100 million bail granted Sowore by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of a Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice Ojukwu ruled that Sowore is to produce two sureties in like sum and deposit the sum of N50 million in the account of the court as security.
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The sureties, she said, must be resident in Abuja, and also have landed property in Abuja worth the bail sum, and they are to deposit the original title documents of the assets with the court.
She also barred Sowore from traveling out of Abuja and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare, from leaving Osogbo during the trial.
