HUMAN rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong was released from the Uyo Correctional Centre in Akwa Ibom State on Friday after spending one month in prison.
In July, The ICIR reported that the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State Justice Ekaette Obot sent Effiong to jail for one month from the courtroom.
Justice Obot also ordered the arrest of a Premium Times reporter Saviour Imukudo, who was in the court to cover Effiong’s case.
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Judge sends lawyer to prison, orders arrest, detention of reporter inside court
Effiong, a human rights lawyer, was handling a case for his client before the judge sent him to prison.
Shortly after the court sitting, the lawyer announced his travails on Twitter.
“I have been sent to Uyo prison by the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State, Justice Ekaette Obot, for one month for defending Leo Ekpenyong in a libel suit filed by Governor Udom Emmanuel,” Effiong said.
Effiong left the prison around 8:00 am on Friday and was received by a waiting crowd of supporters around the premises of the correctional centre.
“I consider it an honour for me to be incarcerated for the truth,” Effiong told reporters and supporters.
He said his incarceration had strengthened his resolve to fight for truth and justice in Nigeria.
“This voice, till no end, is now louder,” he said.
There was anxiety earlier on Friday morning in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, when Effiong’s supporters and some residents gathered to welcome the human rights lawyer from prison.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had earlier condemned Effiong’s incarceration.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance