A candidate for the House of Representatives in Akwa Ibom state, Clement Jimbo, held a solo protest walk in Uyo on Thursday over the internment of a lawyer, Inibehe Effiongto prison in the state for alleged contempt of court.
Mr. Jimbo is the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika federal constituency for the 2023 general election.
The candidate, firmly holding four different banners with both hands, walked from a popular roundabout in Uyo to the headquarters of the Judiciary, by Wellington Bassey, which is a few meters from the Government House.
He wore a black suit, with a gold tie.
Some inscriptions on the posters read: “My generation cannot be cowed by the judiciary. #FreeInibeheEffiong” “Allow my generation to breathe” and “My generation is more. Respect our rights.”
The protest walk was broadcast via Facebook live.
“Release lawyer Inibehe Effiong, he has done nothing wrong,” Mr. Jimbo yelled intermittently as he walked down the side of the less-traveled street. He received some applause from passersby.
“The brave, the strongest of my generation, cannot cower in the face of silence. We cannot allow this precedent to stand,” she said on the broadcast.
The broadcast ended as Mr. Jimbo approached the door of the court complex where Akwa Ibom Chief Justice Ekaette Obot has her office.
Jimbo later told PREMIUM TIMES that the guards at the gate of the court complex tried to harass him, but he told them that he had a constitutional right to protest peacefully.
The president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Uyo branch, met him at the entrance to the complex and told him there was no need to protest because the NBA was looking into the matter, he said.
“I told him he better get it done quick because it’s a precedent that we can’t let stand,” Jimbo said.
One Facebook user, who commented on Mr. Jimbo’s live broadcast, expressed fears that the solo protest could affect the APC candidate’s chances in the election.
Clement Jimbo, APC House of Representatives candidate in Akwa Ibom, protesting the arrest of Inibehe Effiong
“It’s complete nonsense,” he told PREMIUM TIMES of the Facebook comment.
“We need to have a country that is governed by the laws and respects human rights before we can even talk about being a candidate, let alone represent the people.”
Background
Mr. Effiong is a lawyer for a defendant, Leo Ekpenyong, in a defamation lawsuit in which Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel is the plaintiff.
The case is before Judge Obot’s court in Uyo, although Mr. Effiong had requested that the judge refrain.
Judge Obot sent Effiong to jail on Wednesday for alleged contempt of court.
But the lawyer said he did not insult the judge or do anything wrong during the trial.
Meanwhile, the president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olumide Akpata, has assured that Mr. Effiong will be released “shortly”.
Akpata said the NBA would investigate to determine what happened between Effiong and Justice Obot before deciding what to do next.