MOHAMMED FAWEHINMI CHAMBERS 9A, ADEMOLA CLOSE, OFF REMI FANI-KAYODE AVENUE, GRA IKEJA, LAGOS. e mail:mohammedfawehinmiesq@yahoo Vox Populi Vox Dei PRESS STATEMENT Thursday, January 9, 2014 CONTINUED INCARCERATION OF MR. TONYE OKIO BY GOVERNOR SERIAKE DICKSON OF BAYELSA STATE CULLED FROM PAGE 85 SUNDAY THISDAY NEWSPAPER, JANUARY 5, 2014 DOFIE BUOKORIBO: DETENTION OF TONYE OKIO FOR FACEBOOK COMMENTS IS AN ASSAULT ON OUR DEMOCRACY Defie Buokoribo is media aide to former Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State, whose supporter and former representative in Abuja, Tonye Okio, has been detained since October 26 last year by the Police in Bayelsa State for comments on his facebook page that allegedly offended the incumbent governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson. In this interview with Anayo Okolie, Buokoribo condemns Okios detention and accuses the judiciary of working in cahoots with Dickson to deny the former governors aide justice. Excerpts: How would you react to the over two months detention of Tonye Okio? It is very unfortunate that in a democracy a citizen that merely made political demands on a state has been kept away for well over two months. The manner in which he was seized from his home, the treatment that has been meted out to him by the police, his accuser, and the judiciary, is most unfortunate. its a sore point for our democracy. Here was a fellow whose only offence was to have expresses an opinion on his Facebook page. if everybody who expresses an opinion that the authorities do not like would have to be treated this way, it means that our rights to citizenship are under siege. Under our laws, every individual has a right to hold opinion and nobody ought to be punished for doing that. but Tonye has now been made to pay dearly for expressing opinions which the authorities do not like, specifically, the governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson. Simply because he didnt like the opinion that Tonye expresses, he sent policemen from Bayelsa state all the way to Abuja, where Mr. Tonye resides, to abduct him. The word for it is not arrest. he was really abducted on October 26. at first, his friends and relatives thought that he had been kidnapped. it took an effort to realise that he was actually with the police authorities. and it also took a lot more for the police authorities to admit that they were holding him. they then issued a statement saying that he had been arrested for seditious publication, an offence which does not exist in our states books.... The above story and excerpts are very disturbing particularly in this era of democracy. The Governor of Bayelsa State Mr. Seriake Dickson who was the former Attorney- General of Bayelsa State when the incumbent President was Governor of Bayelsa, has carried out an abominable act by violating the freedom of expression accruable to every Nigerian citizen by virtue of Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Section 39 states and I quote: (1)Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference. (2) without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, every person shall be entitled to own, establish and operate any medium for the dissemination of information, ideas and opinions; Provided that no person, other than the Government of the Federation or of a State or any other person or body authorized by the president on the fulfillment of conditions laid down by an Act of the National Assembly, shall own, establishment or operate a television or wireless broadcasting station for any purpose or whatever. (3) Nothing in this section shall invalidate any law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society. (a) for the purpose of preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, maintaining the authority and independence of courts or regulating telephone, wireless broadcasting, television or the exhibition of cinematograph films; or (b) imposing restrictions upon persons holding office under the Government of the Federations or of a State, members of the armed forces of the Federation or member of the Nigeria Police Force or other Government security services or agencies established by law. Carrying out this act with the obvious support of the President, the Attorney- General of the Federation, the Inspector-General of Police, the Attorney-General of Bayelsa State and the Commissioner of Police for Bayelsa State; is an insult to the Constitution, an insult to our nascent democracy and an insult to the Judiciary. I urge all Nigerians who are literate and have a reasonable understanding of these words used in section 39 to please ask the question: Whether a mere comment or an expression of an opinion on Facebook (A widely used social network), violates section 39?. Most of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathans men have to be educated and be made to understand that the military era is over. Also that Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution[as amended] is protective, fully operative and implementable. The cumulative act of the Bayelsa State Governor Mr. Seriake Dickson in ordering the arrest of Mr. Tonye Okio and the facilitation of his continuous incarceration is a simulacrum of a military administrators tactics and is therefore outdated, disgraceful and highly condemnable. It seems Bayesians in power are afraid of the utterances of intelligent Bayesians amongst them. We recall the untimely and planned accidental death of one of the best brains the military has ever produced in this country in the person of General Patrick Owoeye Azazi[Rtd] who died on December 15, 2012; killed in an helicopter crash and the cause of the crash has not yet been proven. Now Mr. Seriake Dickson, an incumbent Governor of such a young state, ordered the arrest of another Bayelsan right under the Presidents nose in Abuja[the Federal Capital Territory], transported him from Abuja to Yenogoa and incarcerated him in Bayelsa State. His offence was a comment he passed against the Bayelsa State Government on facebook. This act has further brought about insult to the judiciary whereby the act of the Magistrate court has been indirectly meant to supercede acts or decision of a State High Court as far as Bayelsa State is concerned. This is unbelievable and up till now the Chief Justice of the Federation, the Nigerian Bar Association as a whole has not made any move to prevent this insolence as Mr. Tonye Okio still remains incarcerated. 2015 is around the corner, it is time for the electorate to save this country from these type of Bayesians. I am forced to refer back to former President Olusegun Obasanjos 18 page letter where he stated that Major Al-Mustapha was released to train a hit squad, to kill 1000 eminent Nigerians. This might be true if the Bayelsa State Governor can incarcerate someone without trial and the President condones it without deeming it fit or necessary to call him to order. ON BEHALF OF ALL WELL-MEANING NIGERIANS, WE HEREBY DEMAND THE UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE OF MR. TONYE OKIO FROM THE GULAG OF GOVERNOR SERIAKE DICKSONS GESTAPO FORCE. MAY OUR COUNTRY CONTINUALLY GROW FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH IN UNITY DESPITE OUR DIVERSITY. I LOVE MY COUNTRY. GOD BLESS NIGERIA. Signed MOHAMMED FAWEHINMI, ESQ
Posted on: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 07:55:21 +0000