Soyinka, reacting to the 7-count charge slammed against Sowore, who has been in detention following a court pronouncement, said the the new was “utterly depressing.”
The Nobel laureate winner added that on hearing the news, “I can testify that the immediate reaction around me was to dismiss this as yet another grotesque product of Fake News, of which Nigerians have become the greatest practitioners.
I confess that I also joined in this school of thought – at the start.” Soyinka said: “This is utterly depressing news. So, the Sowore affair has moved beyond harassment and taken on a sinister direction. Outside the country where I happened to be engaged at the moment, I can testify that the immediate reaction around me was to dismiss this as yet another grotesque product of Fake News, of which Nigerians have become the greatest practitioners.
“I confess that I also joined in this school of thought – at the start. Further checks have, however, confirmed that this government has indeed attained an unprecedented level of paranoia. “I do not believe that the Justice department itself believes in these improbable charges, as formally publicised. So, once again, we inscribe on our annals another season of treasonable felony, History still guards some lessons we have yet to digest, much less from which to learn. Welcome to the Club, Mr Omoyele Sowore,” Soyinka said.
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