CITIZENS COMPASS– ONE month after his detention at Uyo Correctional Centre. Inibehe Effiong, human rights lawyer, has regained his freedom on Friday.
He was sent to the Correctional Center on July 27, 2022, by the Akwa Ibom Chief Judge, Ekaette Obot, for contempt of court.
He was seen giving a heroic welcome march by a team of supporters.
The lawyer, who announced his freedom on his Twitter handle, vowed to double his efforts in fighting oppression.
“I am back, stronger and more determined to confront the forces of oppression and to continue to speak nothing but the hard truth to the faces of the oppressors of our people. I feel sorry for those who thought they can break my spirit by incarcerating me,” he wrote via, @InibeheEffiong
He served the first two weeks of his 30 days sentence at the Ikot Ekpene Custodial Center of the Nigeria Correctional Service before he was transferred to Uyo Custodial Centre to serve the remaining days.
Effiong was reportedly abused by prison officials who scraped his hair and beard.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General of the state, Uko Udom, had said that the judge had the power to decide contempt.
Udom stated this on Tuesday at the Annual General Meeting of Nigerian Bar Association, in Lagos.
He said,
I was somebody who was trained in the old school, I am a very conservative lawyer and have no apology for that.
“We were told that we do not talk back to the judge. If a judge says your conduct or your action or your words are contemptuous to the court what you do as a lawyer is to apologise and then explain to the court that it was never your intention to be contemptuous.”
Inibehe was defending Leo Ekpenyong in a case of libel said to have been instituted against his client by Governor Udom Emmanuel of the state.
