Godwin Tsa, Abuja

The co-convener of #RevolutionNow protest, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare, were on Monday arraigned on a seven-count charge before a Federal High Court in Abuja.

Although they pleaded not guilty to all the charges, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu ordered that they be detained in the custody of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) till Friday, October 4, pending their bail applications.

Before their arraignment, the court dismissed the objection by their counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), against the scheduled arraignment.

Related: Sowore arraigned in court

Olumide-Fusika had maintained that the arraignment should not be allowed to go on on the grounds that the Department of State Services, which has been keeping him in custody since August 3 had not allowed the defendants to consult with their lawyer after the charges were filed.

He added that the court should protect its integrity by refusing to allow the arraignment to proceed when the prosecution continued to disobey the court order made on September 24 for the release

But the prosecution, led by Hassan Liman (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the objection, insisting that what was more important was that the defendants had been served with the charges.

Liman also said the order for the release of the defendants had lapsed since the defendants had been produced in court for arraignment.