Amnesty International Condemns Imprisonment Of Human Rights Lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, Demands Immediate Release

Global human rights body, Amnesty International in Nigeria has condemned the imprisonment of human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, by the Akwa Ibom State Chief Judge Ekaette Obot, calling it a farce of justice.

The international advocacy group demanded that the imprisoned lawyer be released right away and that the allegations against him be dropped.

Eaglesforesight had last week reported that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) criticised Justice Ekaette Obot for continuing to imprison Effiong, who has been detained since July 27 over alleged contempt of court.

The Congress’s leadership had on Thursday also called for the release of the lawyer, saying the labour movement was driven by the fundamental principle of fairness in law that presumes “an accused person is innocent until proven guilty – Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, not qui negat.

Eaglesforesight earlier reported that when the lawyer appeared in the Akwa Ibom State High Court in a matter of defamation brought by the state governor, Udom Emmanuel, which was before the judge, he raised concern about the presence of armed policemen in the court and was subsequently sentenced to one month in jail.

Amnesty International condemned the Akwa Ibom Chief Judge’s action, saying it was fair for journalists to record court proceedings and report to the public.

“Amnesty International calls on the Nigerian Authorities to immediately release Inibehe Effiong from arbitrary detention and drop all charges against him as due process was not followed in his committal.

“The entire process was a travesty of justice and direct affront on his lawful professional duty as a lawyer,” it said.

“The right to fair and public hearing must be observed at every turn during judicial proceedings. This includes access to the courts and by extension to journalists who wish to observe, record, report and disseminate court proceedings for the public,” AI added