Kufre Carter, a journalist with XL 106.9 FM Uyo in Akwa Ibom
state who was arrested for allegedly defaming Dominic Ukpong, the
state commissioner of health, has regained freedom.
Inibehe Effiong, counsel to the journalist, who confirmed his
release to TheNigerialawyer, said his client was freed on
Wednesday, 27th May, 2020 at about 3:30 p.m., our client, Kufre
Carter, a sport’s journalist with XL 106.9 FM in Uyo regained
freedom after spending one month in the custody of the State
Security Service (SSS) at the instance and on the instigation of
the Akwa Ibom State Government.
This came after the Director-General of the SSS, Alhaji Yusuf
Bichi, ordered the SSS Command in Akwa Ibom State to comply with
the valid and subsisting Order of the Court and release our
client.
We received indication on Tuesday night that Kufre will breathe
the air of freedom again.
The Akwa Ibom State Government knew, or ought to have known,
that we do not fight on our knees. They knew that with us, the rule
of law was not going to be sacrificed on the altar of political
expediency.
The state government also knew that in cases of oppression,
state sponsored terror and persecution, no amount of threat,
blackmail or intimidation would make us to apologise or beg
them.
Like I told the Attorney-General of Akwa Ibom State, Uwemedimo
Uwoko Esq., in court when he tried to humiliate me by announcing to
the hearing of lawyers in the Bar on 11th May, 2020, that Kufre had
apologised to the governor, our client did not apologise to the
governor as he claimed and has no reason to do so.
I also told Mr Nwoko that it is the governor who must apologise
to our client. We remain unwavering in our position.
Those who clandestinely bargained for apology with the
government in an attempt to give the government a soft landing did
so in bad faith.
They never sought our opinion or consent. No union or
association intimated us of their plan to hold a nocturnal meeting
with the government over our client’s case, this is not how sincere
people behave.
We are impelled to specifically state that the leadership of the
Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Akwa Ibom State did not play
any useful role in the release of our client. On the contrary, the
NUJ leadership played a spoiler role in their attempt to massage
the insatiable ego of their friends and benefactors in
government.
The Attorney-General claimed that it was the NUJ leadership that
told him that they had extracted an apology from our client which
he said was meant for Governor Udom Emmanuel.
That false statement from Nwoko Esq. came to us as a rude shock
given that the State Chairman and Secretary of the NUJ had issued a
public statement in commemoration of the recent International Press
Freedom Day wherein they jointly distanced themselves from our
client’s case by stating that none of their members was in
custody.
We could not rationalise how the same people who disclaimed and
denied our client publicly would secretly meet with the persecutors
of our client to discuss undeserved apology. We hope that members
of the NUJ Council in Akwa Ibom State will summon courage at their
next Congress to investigate the shameful role of their leaders in
this case.
Kufre Carter did not and could not have apologised to
anyone.
The Akwa Ibom State Government should know by now that their
usual belligerent antics of arresting, intimidating and coercing
innocent citizens to apologise over critical comments has expired.
They may have done that successfully in other cases, but such
oppressive antics cannot work with us.
Our client is a citizen of Nigeria and not a slave. We will
never be part of any unholy arrangement that diminishes the
fundamental rights of our client.
While we are discomfited with the abusive deployment of the SSS
by the Akwa Ibom State Government against our client, we
nonetheless wish to thank the Director-General of the SSS for
halting the voyage of illegality at the SSS Command in Akwa Ibom
State.
We appeal to Mr Bichi to probe the illegal deployment of the SSS
by the Akwa Ibom State Government to arrest our client over a
purported case of defamation, which has no bearing whatsoever with
it’s statutory mandate under Section 2 (3) of the National Security
Agencies Act of preventing and detecting crimes against the
internal security of Nigeria.
Nigerians will like to know how a purported case of “defamation
of character” affects the internal security of Nigeria? This probe
is necessary to forestall future abuse of the SSS by vindictive,
vicious, wicked and oppressive politicians who have failed in their
most basic responsibilities to the citizens.
We wish to express our profound appreciation to spirited
Nigerians, the courageous members of the Fourth Estate of the Realm
(the media), Amnesty International, the International Press Centre,
SERAP, Peoples Alternative Fronts and other members of the civil
society and the human rights community in Nigeria for their
solidarity in resisting the tyrants of Akwa Ibom State.
Please note that Kufre was not released to the Civil Liberties
Organisation (CLO). The. CLO has no hand in the release of our
client.
It is a sad commentary that CLO will offer itself as a tool in
the hands of the State Government to paint the impression that our
client was released to the CLO. This is nothing but a face saving
falsehood meant to deceive members of the public.
Kufre’s freedom is a reminder to us that with perseverance,
devotion to justice and the rule of law, the leprous fingers of
tyrants will always be broken by the strong hand of the law.
We wish to put the Akwa Ibom State Government and other
necessary parties on notice that this is not the end of this
matter.
Our client will seek legal redress in court over the violation
of his fundamental rights, and will claim damages and public
apology and ancillary reliefs.
As regards the pending criminal charge against our client at the
Chief Magistrate Court, Fulga Street in Uyo, we will be meeting the
state government in Court on Monday, 1st June, 2020 for trial.
Kufre Carter, a journalist with XL 106.9 FM Uyo in Akwa Ibom
state who was arrested for allegedly defaming Dominic Ukpong, the
state commissioner of health, has regained freedom.
Inibehe Effiong, counsel to the journalist, who confirmed his
release to TheNigerialawyer, said his client was freed on
Wednesday, 27th May, 2020 at about 3:30 p.m., our client, Kufre
Carter, a sport’s journalist with XL 106.9 FM in Uyo regained
freedom after spending one month in the custody of the State
Security Service (SSS) at the instance and on the instigation of
the Akwa Ibom State Government.
This came after the Director-General of the SSS, Alhaji Yusuf
Bichi, ordered the SSS Command in Akwa Ibom State to comply with
the valid and subsisting Order of the Court and release our
client.
We received indication on Tuesday night that Kufre will breathe
the air of freedom again.
The Akwa Ibom State Government knew, or ought to have known,
that we do not fight on our knees. They knew that with us, the rule
of law was not going to be sacrificed on the altar of political
expediency.
The state government also knew that in cases of oppression,
state sponsored terror and persecution, no amount of threat,
blackmail or intimidation would make us to apologise or beg
them.
Like I told the Attorney-General of Akwa Ibom State, Uwemedimo
Uwoko Esq., in court when he tried to humiliate me by announcing to
the hearing of lawyers in the Bar on 11th May, 2020, that Kufre had
apologised to the governor, our client did not apologise to the
governor as he claimed and has no reason to do so.
I also told Mr Nwoko that it is the governor who must apologise
to our client. We remain unwavering in our position.
Those who clandestinely bargained for apology with the
government in an attempt to give the government a soft landing did
so in bad faith.
They never sought our opinion or consent. No union or
association intimated us of their plan to hold a nocturnal meeting
with the government over our client’s case, this is not how sincere
people behave.
We are impelled to specifically state that the leadership of the
Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Akwa Ibom State did not play
any useful role in the release of our client. On the contrary, the
NUJ leadership played a spoiler role in their attempt to massage
the insatiable ego of their friends and benefactors in
government.
The Attorney-General claimed that it was the NUJ leadership that
told him that they had extracted an apology from our client which
he said was meant for Governor Udom Emmanuel.
That false statement from Nwoko Esq. came to us as a rude shock
given that the State Chairman and Secretary of the NUJ had issued a
public statement in commemoration of the recent International Press
Freedom Day wherein they jointly distanced themselves from our
client’s case by stating that none of their members was in
custody.
We could not rationalise how the same people who disclaimed and
denied our client publicly would secretly meet with the persecutors
of our client to discuss undeserved apology. We hope that members
of the NUJ Council in Akwa Ibom State will summon courage at their
next Congress to investigate the shameful role of their leaders in
this case.
Kufre Carter did not and could not have apologised to
anyone.
The Akwa Ibom State Government should know by now that their
usual belligerent antics of arresting, intimidating and coercing
innocent citizens to apologise over critical comments has expired.
They may have done that successfully in other cases, but such
oppressive antics cannot work with us.
Our client is a citizen of Nigeria and not a slave. We will
never be part of any unholy arrangement that diminishes the
fundamental rights of our client.
While we are discomfited with the abusive deployment of the SSS
by the Akwa Ibom State Government against our client, we
nonetheless wish to thank the Director-General of the SSS for
halting the voyage of illegality at the SSS Command in Akwa Ibom
State.
We appeal to Mr Bichi to probe the illegal deployment of the SSS
by the Akwa Ibom State Government to arrest our client over a
purported case of defamation, which has no bearing whatsoever with
it’s statutory mandate under Section 2 (3) of the National Security
Agencies Act of preventing and detecting crimes against the
internal security of Nigeria.
Nigerians will like to know how a purported case of “defamation
of character” affects the internal security of Nigeria? This probe
is necessary to forestall future abuse of the SSS by vindictive,
vicious, wicked and oppressive politicians who have failed in their
most basic responsibilities to the citizens.
We wish to express our profound appreciation to spirited
Nigerians, the courageous members of the Fourth Estate of the Realm
(the media), Amnesty International, the International Press Centre,
SERAP, Peoples Alternative Fronts and other members of the civil
society and the human rights community in Nigeria for their
solidarity in resisting the tyrants of Akwa Ibom State.
Please note that Kufre was not released to the Civil Liberties
Organisation (CLO). The. CLO has no hand in the release of our
client.
It is a sad commentary that CLO will offer itself as a tool in
the hands of the State Government to paint the impression that our
client was released to the CLO. This is nothing but a face saving
falsehood meant to deceive members of the public.
Kufre’s freedom is a reminder to us that with perseverance,
devotion to justice and the rule of law, the leprous fingers of
tyrants will always be broken by the strong hand of the law.
We wish to put the Akwa Ibom State Government and other
necessary parties on notice that this is not the end of this
matter.
Our client will seek legal redress in court over the violation
of his fundamental rights, and will claim damages and public
apology and ancillary reliefs.
As regards the pending criminal charge against our client at the
Chief Magistrate Court, Fulga Street in Uyo, we will be meeting the
state government in Court on Monday, 1st June, 2020 for trial.