Akwa Ibom lawyer, Inibehe Effiomg leaves prison

Inibehe Effiong, a human rights attorney, just left the Uyo Correctional Center.

One month after being imprisoned for contempt of court by Akwa Ibom Chief Judge Ekaette Obot, Inibehe was released.

An army of admirers was seen giving him a spectacular welcoming march.

Friday morning, the attorney uploaded a video to his Facebook page with the statement, "History will vindicate the just."

According to The PUNCH, Inibehe was committed to prison on July 27.

He completed the first two weeks of his 30-day term at the Nigeria Correctional Service's Ikot Ekpene Custodial Center.

Later, he was moved to the Uyo Custodial Center where he completed the remaining days.

According to reports, Effiong was mistreated by jail guards who pulled his beard and hair.

The attorney had shaved his beard as of Friday.

“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 added in another post.

Since then, his imprisonment has drawn harsh condemnation from activists, attorneys, and other parties for what they claimed was the judge's inability to allow Inibehe a fair trial or the opportunity to present his own defence.

Uko Udom, the state's attorney general, had previously asserted that the judge had the authority to determine whether or not there had been contempt.

This was said by Udom on Tuesday in Lagos at the Nigerian Bar Association's Annual General Meeting.

Udom 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 representing Leo Ekpenyong in a libel action that was allegedly brought by state governor Udom Emmanuel.

Source