Nigeria orders release of Sowore and Dasuki after court orders: Attorney General

Nigeria'sattorneygeneralon Tuesday ordered thereleaseon bail of an ex-presidential candidate and a former national security adviser, in recognition ofcourtordersthat they bereleased.

The move followed growing internal and international pressure on theNigerian government to abide bycourtorders.

State security had ignored severalcourtordersthat former adviser SamboDasuki, who has been held since 2015, bereleased. It also sparked protests earlier this month when it re-arrested activist and former presidential candidate OmoyeleSoworehoursafterhisreleaseon bail.

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"The two defendants are enjoined to observe the terms of their bail and refrain from engaging in any act that is inimical to public peace and national security as well as their ongoing trial which will run its course in accordance with the laws of the land,"AttorneyGeneraland Justice Minister Abubakar Malami said in a statement.

The government has accusedDasuki, who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan, of fraud involving $68 million of defence spending. He has pleaded not guilty.

Dasukihas been granted bail several times, but the government had refused toreleasehim. In 2016, a judge at thecourtof the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) ordered hisrelease, saying his detention was unlawful and arbitrary.

Sowore, who also founded news website Sahara Reporters, was first arrested in August. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of treason, money laundering and harassing the president.

Video ofSoworescreaming and shouting as he was wrestled to the ground by security officials incourt, only hoursafterhis initialreleaseon bail, circulated widely on social media inNigeriaand internationally.

"While I am grateful for reports on Yele's long overduereleaseon bail, my number one concern is for his safety,"Sowore's wife, OpeyemiSowore, said in an emailed statement. "We remain resolute on Yele being cleared of all baseless charges."

On Monday, the government's own National Human Rights Commission called on the administration to respectcourtrulings.

Six US members of Congress, including Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, also wrote to Malami on December20 that they were "deeply concerned that established legal procedure and the rule of law" were not being followed inSowore's case.

Nigerian advocacy group SERAP also hailed the move, but called on the government toreleaseothers it described as unfairly detained, including journalist Agba Jalingo.

"The government cannot continue to pick and choose whichcourtordersto obey," it said.