Buhari's aide reacts as Sowore slams late Isa Funtua

Garba Shehu, a Senior Special Adviser to the President, has reacted to an interview in which Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, called out Isa Funtua who died hours ago.

An interview had Sowore reveal that Isa Funtua and Garba Shehu visited him in detention and told him that no one has ever fought a government and won.

Sowore who said that their visit was to urge him to abandon his call for revolution in Nigeria, also revealed that they later came up with trumped up charges against him when he turned them down.

Reacting to the claims, Garba Shehu issued a statement saying Sowore actually agreed to a resolution proposed at the meeting.

The statement reads: "Let’s get the facts straight on the meeting with Sowore in SSS detention.

"First, it is important to state that the meeting was not instructed by the government. Nobody sent anybody to go and “negotiate” Sowore’s freedom as he put it.

"The late Malam Isma’ila, on his own called me to ask that I broker a meeting with him and two others with the SSS, which they agreed to.

It is important that I state that it was the force of Malam Isma’ila’s argument that made the meeting possible.

Vanguard Newspapers publisher, Sam Amuka and ThisDay Publisher and President, Nigerian Press Organisation, Nduka Obaigbena, all agreed that Sowore was a “rascal”, who had used his newspaper “to abuse all of us,” but agreed, nonetheless to go and press for his release.

"As the late Isma’ila put it, although he (Sowore) got into his problems due politics, not journalism the fact of him being a publisher imposed a duty on the media leaders to seek ways of making him free.

"The meeting ended well, and contrary to the posturing by Sowore, he said he was happy with a resolution proposed but that his lawyer, whoever that was, needed to come on board.

"The fence mending process, apparently collapsed after the meeting of the trio with the lawyer in Lagos.

"I don’t know what Sowore wants to achieve by distorting the facts of what transpired, but my advice to him is that he should stop his attacks on a dead, well-meaning intercessor.

"Knowing the way the secret service works, it should surprise no one if they keep a recording of that meeting.

"Faced with this posturing and the unfair attacks on the dead, we certainly will be forced to ask for the release of tapes, in case they are available for the public to judge".

“You Can’t Defeat The Gov’t”-My DSS detention encounter with Isa Funtua - the man who once described himself as the @mbuhari “Cabal” pic.twitter.com/bARyXUVXOf

— Omoyele Sowore (@YeleSowore) July 21, 2020

ISMA’ILA ISA: SOWORE HAS NOTHING TO GAIN BY ATTACKING A DEAD SOUL.

Let’s get the facts straight on the meeting with Sowore in SSS detention.

— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) July 21, 2020