The mom of Omoyele Sowore has pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to order the Department of State Services (DSS) to release her son, vowing that he will not jump bail.

Esther Kehinde Sowore, in a two-minute 40-second video, said her son would not run away if released because “he never committed any crime”.

Sowore, a former student union activist who confronted military regimes and went to jail for it, was arrested in August in connection with his #RevolutionNow campaign — a series of nationwide protests he had planned with other activists to demand a better Nigeria.

Despite an existing court order directing the Department of State Service (DSS) to release Sowore from detention, they have paid deaf ears to it.

Sowore’s mother has now pleaded for his release.

She said,

“Dear SSS, Dear Buhari, I am Yele Sowore’s mother. I am sending you this message as a mother. I am a woman, your mother is a woman, your wife is a woman also. This is December and Yele has been taken away since August.

“He always comes to me in the village every December but you have been holding him. I am a widow, my son has always been like that. He speaks against injustice and stands up against it. He doesn’t run away, he faces his case. Please release him and let him face his case in court. I know him, he can’t run away because he knows he has not committed any crime.

“You are a Muslim, please in the name of Allah, leave my son, release him. I call on all mothers to speak out, let us join voice for the sake of the future of our children.

“Omoyele is only asking for a better Nigeria so that all our children can have good future. My mind is disturbed that he has not been allowed to go for medical care since August. Alhaji Bichi Yusuf, please obey the law since you have gone to court release Omoyele Sowore now.

“Since I gave birth to him, he always speaks against evil. Even in the village, before he went to school in Lagos, he has always been like that. He is not a criminal, release Sowore now. Please release my son because you have your own son, you take care of your son, let me take care of my children.

“I am a widow, release my son. I cannot eat, I cannot sleep and it is affecting my health. Please release Omoyele Sowore, my son. He is not a criminal. Omoyele is not a criminal, leave him.”