Ekaette Obot, chief judge of Akwa Ibom, has sent Inibehe Effiong, human rights lawyer, to prison reportedly over a plea for safety during court proceedings.
Effiong alleged in a Twitter thread on Wednesday that the judge sent him to prison when he came to court to defend Leo Ekpenyong, a lawyer, in a libel suit filed by Udom Emmanuel, governor of Akwa Ibom.
Narrating the incident, he said the judge had earlier sent a Premium Times reporter out of the court.
“The Chief Judge of Akwa Akwa Ibom ordered a Premium Times reporter to leave the court. I said my lord, we were thinking that since the proceeding is public, that members of the public should be allowed to observe the proceeding. My Lord asked me to proceed with cross examination,” the tweet reads.
“I obeyed. I informed the court that I was not feeling comfortable and safe having two armed mobile policemen seated inside the courtroom, that it was strange and that I felt unsafe. I applied for the judge to excuse the armed policemen from the courtroom.
“The Hon. Chief Judge then ordered me to step out of the Bar, that she was sending me to prison. She then ordered the policemen to take me to Uyo prison. And that I should be in jail for one month. I am waiting inside the courtroom for them to bring the conviction warrant.
“I will be going to the Uyo Correctional Centre now. I have not done anything. I wasn’t even opportunity to say anything before the “conviction”. Two lawyers in court appealed to the Hon. Chief Judge but my Lord insisted that I must be jailed.
“This is in the suit filed by Governor Udom Emmanuel against a lawyer, Leo Ekpenyong, for alleged defamation.”
KINDLY Send Your Name And City Of Location To Our WhatsApp No. 08072633727🤳🏻 To Receive Latest New Updates Directly Into Your WhatsApp Inbox And Also For your Advert Placement, Publicity, Press Release, Personality Promotion, Special Report, Featured Story, Conference, Interviews, And So On – CONTACT US Too 📞☝🏻 📲
The Osun Online Publishers Association (OOPA) has extended warm felicitations to its Chairman, Comrade Tosin…
The National Executive Council of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities has issued a…
Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have discovered and safely detonated an improvised explosive device (IED)…
All 13 passengers abducted along the Makurdi–Otukpo road in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue…
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has apologised for the delay in releasing the results…
In the high-stakes arena of Ekiti politics, leadership is defined by those who stand tallest…