...LTV apologises to secret police over alleged Lagos Assembly invasion
Convener of a civil society group, Nigeria Renaissance Group, Comrade Usman Okai Austin has faulted the claim by the convener of Take-it-Back Movement, Omoyele Sowore, that the Department of State Services (DSS), abducted and harassed him for accusing Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Usman Ododo of embezzling N13.4 billion local government funds.
This refutal was made about the time the management of Lagos State Television (LTV) apologised to the DSS over a report last month that its operatives invaded the State House of Assembly.
The media organisation said it “has since revised [sic] the facts and established that the acting clerk of the Lagos State House of Assembly wrote to invite the DSS to forestall breakdown of law and order.”
It consequently tendered “unreserved apology to the DSS.”
Meanwhile, in the Sowore case, recall that he, had on the heels of a recent allegation by Austin, published several stories and uploaded video clips in which he claimed that Governor Ododo orchestrated the DSS to harrass, intimidate and abduct Austin from his house, greatly traumatizing his family.
Sowore, in the company of some associates, further accused the DSS of arbitrariness, violating the rights of citizens, and stressed that the Secret Police attempted to gag and punish the activist as punishment for speaking against Governor Ododo.
However, pooh-poohing Sowore’s claims, Comrade Austin, in a press conference in Abuja, denied being tortured by the secret police.
He said the additional information his group sourced on its earlier narrative that Governor Ododo embezzled ₦13.4 billion, helped his group realise that it misrepresented the facts of the matter.
According to Austin, Sowore’s narrative on when and how the DSS arrested him were clearly his personal opinion.
He said that Sowore’s account might have been sourced from a third party that clearly wasn’t aware of what truly transpired.
The activist expressed regrets over what he described as the embarrassment and inconvenience his actions caused Governor Ododo and the public.
The Renaissance Group leader, during the course of the press conference, apologised and retracted his previous publications.
It was not clear at the time of publishing if, given Comrade Austin’s apology and retraction in the face of Sowore’s theatrics, allegations and disparaging remarks on the DSS, the secret police would seek legal action against Sowore and his associates.
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