The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has called on the federal government to release activist Omoyele Sowore and withdraw all criminal defamation and cybercrime charges against him following his remand by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice Mohammed Umar had on Monday ordered Sowore’s remand at the KujeCorrectional Centre pending the determination of his application seeking a stay of execution of an earlier order revoking his bail.
The judge also dismissed an application seeking his recusal from the case over alleged bias.
Reacting to the development, SERAP in a statement signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said Sowore was being detained solely for peacefully exercising his fundamental rights.
“We are concerned about the escalating crackdown on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association and media freedom and the flagrant disregard for the rule of law by Nigerian authorities,” the organisationsaid.
“Nigerian authorities must immediately release Sowore and drop all the bogus charges against him. Authorities must stop weaponizing criminal defamation and cybercrime laws to target and attack journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders and activists and stop detaining and imprisoning them solely for doing their jobs,” the statement read.
The organisation said journalists, bloggers, activists and human rights defenders increasingly face criminal charges and arbitrary detention for carrying out legitimate work and exercising their rights.
It further alleged that authorities were increasingly relying on criminal defamation and other restrictive laws to suppress criticism and peaceful dissent.
“We are also concerned about the persistence of threats to journalists’ safety, and the potential chilling effect of strategic lawsuits against public participation and harassment, including by security agencies and politicians,” SERAP said.
Chuks Okocha
