Wife of Haworth journalist imprisoned in Nigeria meets with Josh Gottheimer

Show Caption Hide Caption Wife of NJ Journalist Imprisoned in Nigeria Meets with Josh Gottheimer Opeyemi Sowore, the wife of NJ journalist Omoyele Sowore, imprisoned in Nigeria since August met with U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer on Dec. 20.

Opeyemi Sowore is hoping for a Christmas miracle for her children — the return of their father to the United States.

Omoyele Sowore, who lives in Haworth, has been imprisoned in his home country of Nigeria since charges stemming from his Aug. 3 arrest while he was organizing a peaceful pro-democracy protest in the city of Lagos.

"My son, who is 10, his Christmas list has his dad on there. My daughter, who is twelve, put a big picture of her dad on her Christmas list," Sowore said during a meeting Friday with Rep. Josh Gottheimer at his office in Glen Rock.

She came with several members of the Haworth Borough Council who have supported the family and helped to bring awareness of their plight.

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Sowore has been detained in a prison in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, even though a judge had three times ordered Nigeria's Department of State Services to release him after he had met bail conditions.

He was actually freed from state custody on Dec. 5, a day before he was to appear in court to face charges including insulting President Muhammadu Buhari, treason, money laundering and cyberstalking, all of which he has denied.

But after a judge on Dec. 6 adjourned the trial until Feb. 11, officers from the Department of State Services stormed the courtroom and re-arrested him, reports said.

Sowore said she worried about her husband being "illegally detained" for 139 days and other Nigerian journalists also being held illegally, and was alarmed at the violent force employed to arrest her husband and a co-defendant.

However, Gottheimer said there is reason for hope on several fronts.

At a hearing in a Nigerian court on Monday, a judge is to rule on whether Omoyele Sowore will be freed from custody. His wife hopes that would prompt a "miracle" of him being brought back to the U.S.

Also, the U.S. government will hold a bilateral meeting with Nigerian government officials in January where the topic of Sowore's imprisonment will be brought up.

And Gottheimer is one of six signatories of a letter, along with U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez and Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. of Paterson, sent to Nigeria's Attorney General Abubakar Malami requesting he "work to facilitate a speedy and fair resolution to the current circumstances of his re-detention" and that Sowore receive a "legally sound and credible trial."

The local officials thanked Gottheimer for being the first elected official to reach out to them to help in this cause.

Gottheimer told Opeyemi Sowore that he wants to see her husband back home. "There could be no better Christmas present for your kids," he said.

Ricardo Kaulessar is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com Twitter: @ricardokaul

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