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Sowore Demands Release of Usman Okai Austin After DSS Arrest
In a recent development, human rights attorney Deji Adeyanju has located activist and politician Usman Okai Austin at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja.
Austin was reportedly taken from his Abuja residence in a forceful manner by DSS operatives, who allegedly did not present an arrest warrant during the operation.
Omoyele Sowore, a prominent activist and former presidential candidate, has publicly condemned Austin’s detention. Sowore asserts that the DSS’s actions are a response to allegations made by Austin against Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo.
According to Sowore, Governor Ododo was displeased with Austin’s claims that he had illicitly acquired ₦13 billion since assuming office and sought the DSS’s assistance to interrogate Austin regarding these accusations.
Also, Sowore criticized the DSS’s involvement, describing it as an abuse of power and a tactic to suppress citizens demanding accountability. He stated, “This is an utterly ridiculous reason to arrest Austin Okai… the DSS must release Usman Okai Austin immediately!”
A video obtained by SaharaReporters shows heavily armed security operatives storming Okai’s residence in Abuja and forcefully taking him away. His wife confirmed that the DSS operatives did not present any warrant for his arrest.
As of now, the DSS has not issued an official statement regarding Austin’s arrest, and calls for his immediate release continue to grow.
Governor Usman Ododo has previously faced allegations of corruption. A group of Kogi state indigenes recently accused him of diverting ₦13.4 billion and demanded immediate restitution.
TV anchor Rufai Oseni makes headlines as he speaks on fuel subsidy in Nigeria. He shared that Nigeria can have fuel subsidy without the long queues at filling stations.
“When we were still paying subsidies, there were no long queues. We were subsidising. So you can still have a subsidy regime going on, and there will be no long queues because production was close by. Dangote had it. That’s just it. That argument also falls flat.
“The biggest beneficiaries of subsidy are not Nigerians. They are crony capitalists that have big infrastructure, and they do contracts. They have been the biggest beneficiaries of the subsidy,” he said.
Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, speaks to those in the electricity sector about the usual blackouts in the state.
He speaks on ways things can change in the state and how electricity can be provided.
“We need to drop corporate egos, abandon long-standing excuses, and confront the harsh realities obstructing progress in the power sector.”
“We, state governments, used to give excuses that everything is centralised, so the Federal Government has unbundled it now. What have we done in a year and a half?” Sanwo-Olu asked.
“We take two steps forward, we go five steps backward,” he said.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared Thursday, August 20, a work-free day for public servants in the state to mark the Isese Festival.
Speaking on the celebration, he said “Ìṣẹ̀ṣe is not a relic. It is a living expression of our traditions and a celebration of Yoruba spirituality as an important part of Nigeria’s cultural and religious landscape,” he said.
He added “When the drums sound in Lagos on Thursday, they answer drums in Havana, in Salvador, in Port of Spain. Fifty-five million people and counting. Lagos is not observing a local holiday. Lagos is standing at the centre of a global heritage,” Aregbe said.
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