The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to immediately and unconditionally release activist and journalist, Omoyele Sowore, and drop all charges of criminal defamation and cybercrime filed against him.
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SERAP said Sowore, who is also the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, was being detained solely for peacefully exercising his human rights, including freedom of expression.
The call followed Monday’s order of the Federal High Court in Abuja remanding Sowore at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing of his application challenging the revocation of his bail.
The court gave the order after dismissing Sowore’s application seeking the recusal of the presiding judge from the case on the ground of alleged bias.
In a statement signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP expressed concern over what it described as an escalating crackdown on freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association and media freedom in Nigeria.
The organisation also accused Nigerian authorities of showing disregard for the rule of law.
“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,” SERAP said.
According to the organisation, Nigerian authorities should protect human rights and the rule of law rather than suppress them.
“Nigerian authorities should safeguard, not stifle, human rights and the rule of law in the country,” the statement added.
SERAP called on the Federal Government to release Sowore and withdraw what it described as “bogus charges” against him.
“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,” it said.
The organisation said it was worried that journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders and activists in Nigeria continue to face criminal charges, arbitrary detention and other obstacles for carrying out their legitimate work and peacefully exercising their rights.
SERAP alleged that authorities at different levels increasingly use criminal defamation laws and other restrictive laws to suppress human rights and peaceful dissent through lawsuits against journalists, bloggers, activists and human rights defenders.
It also raised concerns over threats to journalists’ safety and the chilling effect of strategic lawsuits against public participation, harassment and intimidation by security agencies and politicians.
According to SERAP, impunity for those who threaten, intimidate and harass journalists and activists worsens the hostile environment for defenders of constitutionally and internationally guaranteed rights in Nigeria.
The organisation stressed that the right to criticise public officials and government policies is a fundamental element of democracy, adding that public officers must tolerate greater scrutiny and criticism than private citizens.
“Legal processes should never be used, or be perceived as being used, to punish, intimidate, or silence dissenting voices or those engaged in legitimate public-interest advocacy,” SERAP said.
It urged the Tinubu administration to ensure that Sowore is able to continue his journalistic and human rights activities without fear of harassment, intimidation, arrest or reprisals.
SERAP also called on the government to end what it described as growing authoritarian practices, uphold the rule of law and respect the rights of everyone in Nigeria, including the rights to liberty, fair trial, freedom of expression, freedom of association and peaceful assembly.
The organisation further urged President Tinubu and his government to publicly call on the Department of State Services to uphold and fully respect the rights of journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders, activists and all Nigerians.
SERAP also asked the administration to review laws such as the Official Secrets Act, the Criminal Code Act and the Cybercrime Act to remove provisions that restrict free speech and press freedom.
It said such laws should be amended in line with international human rights standards, warning that they continue to erode citizens’ enjoyment of human rights and media freedom in Nigeria.
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