The Department of State Service (DSS), on Tuesday said it has not released Sahara Reporters’ publisher, Omoleye Sowore, because those who stood as sureties to fulfil his bail conditions have refused to come forward at the DSS headquarters for documentation before his release.
The spokesman of the DSS, Peter Afunanya, who made this known during a press conference at the Headquarters of the Service in Abuja, explained that the Service has received unfair criticism over the issue mostly from people who are ignorant of standard practices of intelligence organizations.
He said the DSS has not refused to obey the Court order to release Sowore but insists that the administrative component of the judicial pronouncement must be done.
He said, “If someone has stood in surety for Sowore they should come and document properly, “adding that, “It’s not out of place that we are insisting that, administrative procedures are followed and adhered to in totality in the discharge or execution of the court order.”
He said “There are processes that have to be followed, and we have even expressed it to the court; internationally, this is not out of place.”
He argued that it is not possible for the DSS to release Sowore to the wrong person even though he has been granted bail.
He noted that it would have been unprofessional for the Service to have released him to a mob of protesters who came demanding his release.
