Court acquits activists arrested for participating in anti-Buhari posts
A magistrate's court in Lokoja, Kogi state on Thursday dismissed criminal charges against two men accused of defacing government buildings with posters of #BuhariMustGo in 2021.
Their lawyer, Tope Temokun, announced his clients' legal victory on Thursday via his Facebook page.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the two men, Emmanuel Larry and Victor Udoka, were arrested and detained in a correctional facility in Kabba, Kogi State, after participating in a #BuhariMustGo protest organized against the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in Lokoja, the state capital, in April last year.
A viral video captured the moment the duo were accosted and physically assaulted by a group of youths from a community in Lokoja for carrying signs reading 'Buhari Must Go' and scribbling the same message on a roadside structure.
PREMIUM TIMES has learned that MM. Larry and Udoka were later handed over to the police, who "secretly" arrested them and obtained a remand order, according to one of their lawyers, Benjamin Omeiza, who spoke to the one of our correspondents last year.
State Police Commissioner Ayuba Edeh later confirmed that the two were arrested on April 5, 2021, for allegedly launching a smear campaign against the President, Mr Buhari, in Lokoja, the state capital.
The men spent more than two months in detention before being released on bail last year.
However, announcing the acquittal of the two men on Thursday, Mr. Temokun said: "Today, July 14, 2022, the Court quashed this inglorious charge, releasing these young activists."
The lawyer, who blamed the militants' hardship on Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, Yahaya Bello, and his deputy, Edward Onoja, said the two men 'were tortured by political thugs and “had been remanded to Kabba prison for 78 years. days, to waste away.”
He said that the Kogi state government “has made a commitment, albeit in vain, to massively invest the meager resources of the citizens of Kogi to prosecute them in court, through the Ministry of Justice of Kogi State”.
AppreciationsCongratulating his team of lawyers on the success of the case, Mr. Temokun said:
"As part of Chambers' humanitarian work, we took over the case pro bono in 2021. We have since been in court and Benjamin Obilor, the lawyer representing our office, whom I especially thank and appreciate for his stubbornness, had given a good fight during these months of desperate measures by the Kogi State government to send these young patriots back to prison."
He also praised SaharaReporters editor and activist Omoyele Sowore for his role in the case.
Mr. Temokun praised Mr. Sowore, who is the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate in the upcoming 2023 general election for “standing up for the weak and vulnerable youth of all tribes in this country.”
Reacting to the court judgment, Mr Sowore, in a post on his Facebook page on Thursday, also blamed Governor Bello of Kogi State for the ordeals of the militants.
“These activists were detained for endless months until Nigerian law enforcement officers and police officers as well as the governor and his deputy implicated in their detention were all exposed. another powerful testament to that time-tested aphorism that "power has no reverse until it meets a higher power," he said.
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A magistrate's court in Lokoja, Kogi state on Thursday dismissed criminal charges against two men accused of defacing government buildings with posters of #BuhariMustGo in 2021.
Their lawyer, Tope Temokun, announced his clients' legal victory on Thursday via his Facebook page.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the two men, Emmanuel Larry and Victor Udoka, were arrested and detained in a correctional facility in Kabba, Kogi State, after participating in a #BuhariMustGo protest organized against the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in Lokoja, the state capital, in April last year.
A viral video captured the moment the duo were accosted and physically assaulted by a group of youths from a community in Lokoja for carrying signs reading 'Buhari Must Go' and scribbling the same message on a roadside structure.
PREMIUM TIMES has learned that MM. Larry and Udoka were later handed over to the police, who "secretly" arrested them and obtained a remand order, according to one of their lawyers, Benjamin Omeiza, who spoke to the one of our correspondents last year.
State Police Commissioner Ayuba Edeh later confirmed that the two were arrested on April 5, 2021, for allegedly launching a smear campaign against the President, Mr Buhari, in Lokoja, the state capital.
The men spent more than two months in detention before being released on bail last year.
However, announcing the acquittal of the two men on Thursday, Mr. Temokun said: "Today, July 14, 2022, the Court quashed this inglorious charge, releasing these young activists."
The lawyer, who blamed the militants' hardship on Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, Yahaya Bello, and his deputy, Edward Onoja, said the two men 'were tortured by political thugs and “had been remanded to Kabba prison for 78 years. days, to waste away.”
He said that the Kogi state government “has made a commitment, albeit in vain, to massively invest the meager resources of the citizens of Kogi to prosecute them in court, through the Ministry of Justice of Kogi State”.
AppreciationsCongratulating his team of lawyers on the success of the case, Mr. Temokun said:
"As part of Chambers' humanitarian work, we took over the case pro bono in 2021. We have since been in court and Benjamin Obilor, the lawyer representing our office, whom I especially thank and appreciate for his stubbornness, had given a good fight during these months of desperate measures by the Kogi State government to send these young patriots back to prison."
He also praised SaharaReporters editor and activist Omoyele Sowore for his role in the case.
Mr. Temokun praised Mr. Sowore, who is the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate in the upcoming 2023 general election for “standing up for the weak and vulnerable youth of all tribes in this country.”
Reacting to the court judgment, Mr Sowore, in a post on his Facebook page on Thursday, also blamed Governor Bello of Kogi State for the ordeals of the militants.
“These activists were detained for endless months until Nigerian law enforcement officers and police officers as well as the governor and his deputy implicated in their detention were all exposed. another powerful testament to that time-tested aphorism that "power has no reverse until it meets a higher power," he said.
Support the integrity and credibility journalism of PREMIUM TIMES Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can guarantee the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy and a transparent government. For free and continued access to the best investigative journalism in the country, we ask that you consider providing modest support to this noble endeavour. By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you help sustain relevant journalism and keep it free and accessible to everyone.Donate
TEXT ANNOUNCEMENT: Call Willie - +2348098788999
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