A Nigerian journalist, Agba Jalingo, who has been in police detention for over a week, over a report about an alleged diversion of N500 million by the Cross River governor, Senator Ben Ayade has been charged with treason.
Jalingo, the publisher of CrossRiverWatch was arrested and detained over a petition by the government’s owned microfinance bank following the report in his newspaper.
Jalingo who was arrested in Lagos and whisked off to Calabar, the capital city of the Cross River State, had sued the police over his arrest and detention, which he said were illegal and a breach of his fundamental human rights. He is asking a court to order the police to pay him N150 million as damages for the manner he was allegedly maltreated.
But while a judge is yet to hear Jalingo’s fundamental human rights case, the police have instituted a four-count charge of treasonable felony, terrorism, cultism, and the disturbance of public peace on the journalist.
The charges which were filed at the Federal High Court in Calabar, also indicated that Jalingo was working with the #RevolutionNow movement of the detained founder of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, to destabilise the government and “undemocratically” force the government of Ayade to end through violent means.
Constitutional and human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong described the charges as ludicrous.
Agba Jalingo has been charged with “treason” and “terrorism”. The clown called Ben Ayade has accused our comrade of trying to overthrow him through online publications on Cross River Watch. Nothing can be more imbecilic and ludicrous than this.
— Inibehe Effiong (@InibeheEffiong) August 31, 2019
The Nigerian government accused Sowore, a former presidential candidate, of planning to overthrow the government through his #RevolutionNow protest. Sowore who was arrested by the State Security Service is being held in detention for 45 days while the security agency carries out its investigation.
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