A helpless Sowore

In our present day Nigeria, there are three (3) categories of people. Namely;

• The Ruling Class(Federal Government).
• The Mighty Opposition.
• The Mere Commoner.
  The ruling class makes up the present day government because of the tyranic nature and manner in which it operates can give room to alot of things.
  It was Voltaire, a French writer of blessed memory who said “tyrants have always some slight shade of virtue; they support the laws before destroying them”. This is exactly what is going on today. A man once loved for fighting corruption has become a villain. It is as if Voltaire is still alive to see the kind of tyrant we have as a leader before he gave the quote using our president , Muhammadu Buhari as a case study.
  Some months ago, the founder of Sahara group reporter and convener of the RevolutionNow movement who was also the Presidential Candidate under the platform of the AAC was arrested for planning a protest tagged RevolutionNow. He was by order of the Court kept in custody pending investigations. After months in detention charges which includes treason and cybercrime were brought against Sowore which to me is laughable. I hope and honestly do pray that counsel to Sowore would do the needful so that those charges can be thrown out for want of deligent prosecution.
  I will however not bother myself with the other charges but point my atenna so as to get a clear signal as to the charge of treason in the cause of this paper.
  In law, Treason is a criminal disloyalty to the state. It is a crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against ones nation or sovereign. This usually includes things such as participating in a war against ones nation or country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power or attempting to kill its head of state.
  A person who commits treason is called a traitor.
  Now, from the above explanation, would you say Sowore really is guilty of treason? Well, its for the Court to decide but that does not take away our freedom of thought which brings to my submission that Sowore cant be seen as a traitor or an enemy of the state. He is only a concerned citizen who feels, like many of us, that the government isnt doing enough and should be put on their toes.
  I strongly believe that if Sowore is guilty of anything, it shouldnt be Treason. What he did MIGHT be seditious rather than treasonable.
  Sedition can be aptly defined as an act, speech or publication that is done with a SEDITIOUS INTENTION which has also be defined by the provisions of S.50(2) of the criminal code. It provides;
  “A seditious intention is an intention
  • to bring into hatred or contempt or excite disaffection against the person of the President or the Governor of a State or the Government of the Federation; or
  • to excite the citizens or other inhabitants of Nigeria to attempt to procure the alteration, otherwise than by lawful means, of any other matter in Nigeria as established by law.
• to raise discontent or disaffection amongst the citizens or other inhabitants of Nigeria; or
  -to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different classes of the population.

Now ,looking at treason and sedition, put them side by side, analysing them critically, do you still submit that Sowores’ Treason Charge is reasonable?
One would be tempted to think that the reason the charge of Treason as against Sedition was brought against Sowore is for the sole aim to put him away for a long time.
Well, time will tell.
Sowore and others like him is who I call the MIGHTY OPPOSITION. The ones like you and I are the Mere Commoners. We can never be heard unless we are united and speak with one voice.

I am KEKEMEKE OPAKEMIYENTIMI JOSHUA(08184803913), writing from Ibadan with jojoluvflo@gmail.com.