The co-convener of #RevolutionNow protest, Omoyele Sowore, and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare, on Monday, pleaded not guilty to the seven counts of treasonable felony and other sundry offences instituted against them by the Federal Government.
They were arraigned before Justice Ijeoma Ojuwku of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The judge earlier dismissed the objection of the defendants’ lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), to the scheduled arraignment.
Olumide-Fusika had maintained that the arraignment should not be allowed to go on on the grounds that the Department of State Services, which has been keeping him in custody since August 3, 2019, had not allowed the defendants to consult with their lawyer after the charges were filed.
He added that the court should protect its integrity by refusing to allow the arraignment to proceed when the prosecution continued to disobey the court order made on September 24, 2019 for the release.
But the prosecution led by Hassan Liman (SAN) urged the court to dismiss the objection insisting that what was more important was that the defendants had been served with the charges.
Liman also said the order for the release of the defendants had lapsed since the defendants had been produced in court for arraignment.