Pat Stevens/
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, has faulted claims by the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, that the late Mallam Ismaila Isa Funtua led a Federal Government delegation to negotiate the terms of his release while in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS).
Shehu while reacting to Sowore’s claims also said the SSS might be forced to make public a recording of the visit of Funtua and other newspaper publishers to Sowore, if he did not refrain from making spurious claims.
Sowore, who is the convener of the RevolutionNow protest, was detained by the SSS for over four months in 2019, during which time he was visited by the late Funtua; Shehu, the Publisher of Vanguard, Sam Amuka-Pemu; and the Publisher of ThisDay newspapers, Nduka Obaigbena.
Funtua, who was a close associate and in-law to President Muhammadu Buhari, died in Abuja yesterday.
Following Funtua’s death, Sowore granted an interview to Sahara Reporters, in which he recounted how the deceased and others paid him a visit while he was in the SSS custody and asked him to stop fighting the government in exchange for his freedom.
But in his reaction via a Facebook post, Shehu wrote, “Let’s get the facts straight on the meeting with Sowore in SSS detention. First, it is important to state that the meeting was not instructed by the government. Nobody sent anybody to go and negotiate Sowore’s freedom as he put it.
“The late Malam Isma’ila (Funtua), on his own called me to ask that I broker a meeting with him and two others with the SSS, which they agreed to. It is important that I state that it was the force of Malam Isma’ila’s argument that made the meeting possible.
“Vanguard Newspapers publisher, Sam Amuka and ThisDay Publisher and President, Nigerian Press Organisation, Nduka Obaigbena, all agreed that Sowore was a ‘rascal’, who had used his newspaper ‘to abuse all of us,’ but agreed, nonetheless to go and press for his release.
“The meeting ended well, and contrary to the posturing by Sowore, he said he was happy with a resolution proposed but that his lawyer, whoever that was, needed to come on board. The fence-mending process apparently collapsed after the meeting of the trio with the lawyer in Lagos.
“Knowing the way the secret service works, it should surprise no one if they keep a recording of that meeting. Faced with this posturing and the unfair attacks on the dead, we certainly will be forced to ask for the release of tapes, in case they are available for the public to judge.”
In his own account of the visit by the quartet in the interview with Sahara Reporters, Sowore stated: “After spending two weeks in DSS detention 2019, one afternoon I was called downstairs, early. Upon reaching the office of the two senior officers saddled with my detention, I was accompanied to the office of the Director Operations, a few minutes later there was this towering figure in white dress arriving with a delegation.
“It was Isa Funtua (now late) accompanied by Vanguard publisher Sam Amuka, Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu and Nduka Obaigbena, owner of THISDAY and ARISEtv.
“I was meeting all these men for the first time in my life. They said they had come (to) discuss my freedom from detention, while I thanked them for their kind intervention.
“I made it clear that it was wrong to come meet with me in detention without first consulting with my lawyer, Femi Falana. We (were) already in court challenging my unjust detention, but Isa-Funtua, haughty and condescending, was dismissive.
“He started berating my lawyer, claiming he’s only “grandstanding” and to me, he stated with a note of finality, “you can’t defeat the government”.
“I was enraged, and told him, ‘Well, you are about (to) find out that the people can defeat any government, no matter how powerful you guys think you’re.
“As we argued back and forth, Nduka (Obaigbena) intervened and took me to an ante room in the office of the DO and pleaded that I shouldn’t argue with the old man that I should just play along and get released.
“I repeated to him that I’d considered the consequences of my actions and I am not interested in negotiating my liberty with anyone.
“I asked him why he didn’t think it was necessary to contact my attorneys before embarking on such a mission, he said he will get to Femi Falana and that was the end of my encounter with the team.”
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