The convener of the #RevolutionNow movement, Omoyele Sowore, has declared that he will not stop coming to Nigeria even though his name is on the watchlist of the government.
When addressing journalists shortly after he regained his freedom following his detention at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos State upon his arrest on Sunday, Sowore said he will not run away from Nigeria, unlike President Bola Tinubu, who fled the country in 1994 after being falsely accused by the military dictator Sani Abacha regime.
Sowore was detained by the Nigeria Immigration Service at the airport on Sunday upon his arrival in Nigeria on the strength of a watchlist prepared by the Department of State Services (DSS).
He was later released and allowed to go and his passport – which was initially seized – was returned to him.
Sowore stated that he is not afraid of being targeted by the government and will continue to exercise his right to free movement in and out of Nigeria
He criticised Tinubu for allegedly doing to protesters what was done to him in 1994 by a military regime and urged his fellow co-patriots to continue to fight for the liberation of Nigeria from the shackles of bad leadership.
He said: “I am not bragging. I am not running away from anybody. It is either we get it right or we all perish.
What I meant by perish is that if we don’t do anything about the situation of our country, we are all going to perish; these people are going to finish everybody.
“A lot of people cannot believe that Bola Tinubu who was accused in 1994 falsely by the military of trying to bomb Ejigbo… is also doing the same thing to protesters.
He was accused by Abacha and that was the reason he left the country.
“But contrary to their own decision to leave, I am not leaving.”
“I will continue to maintain my right to travel freely whether he puts me on watchlist or down list. Whichever list you want to put me on, it doesn’t matter. The most important thing is that we must save this country and liberate ourselves,” Sowore added.
