The legal representative of One Love Foundation, Samuel Ihensekhien Jnr has raised the alarm over alleged plans by highly placed individuals in Edo State Government to arrest and detain Dr Patrick Osagie Eholor.
Ihensekhien Jnr in a notice, made available to our media stated that anụ plan to detain the human rights activist in any guise cannot stand as the accusations leveled against him were not tenable due to a judgement by the ECOWAS Court.
See the message below:
“We are at One Love Foundation, a foremost human rights organisation in Nigeria committed to truth, public interest issues, and securing justice for all defenceless citizens.
We wish to alert and draw the attention of everyone to the surreptitious attempt to arrest and detain the Global founder of One Love Foundation over certain online posts and publications in the person of Dr Patrick Eholor for criticising some Edo state state actors and highly placed persons in the recent petroleum pump price hike /imbroglio and issue in Edo state.
We however note that Dr Patrick eholor by a recent publication in the Vanguard News Paper of May 3, 2023, our own Eholor only advised the deputy Governor of Edo state to live by example viazviz:
His words:
“Let me also use this opportunity to talk to the Deputy Governor of Edo State, he is my brother, he allegedly has numerous filling stations, and should live by example so that he can sell his petrol at the regulated and approved pump price so others would follow suit, and that will also give him the courage and strength of character to punish other people who violate the approved pump price of PMS”, he said.
We are surprised that this and few more related press release by Dr Patrick Eholor has now attracted an unwarranted police invitation at the Edo state police command to report and answer for the case of false information, cyber bullying, and other sundry related offence.
We are by this press release wish to remind the Edo state police command of Nigeria Police Force, that by the judgement of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice in a suit number ECW/CCJ/APP/09/19 filed before it by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) against the Federal Republic of Nigeria it has declared Section 24 of Nigeria’s Cybercrime Act as inconsistent and incompatible with Freedom of Expression and Media Freedom.
The regional court however made the above declaration while delivering judgment in 2022, on a suit number ECW/CCJ/APP/09/19 filed before it by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) against the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Section 24 of the Nigeria Cybercrime Act among others criminalise sending or causing to be sent an “offensive, insulting or annoying” message via a computer system or network.” The offence is punishable including a fine of up to N7 million or imprisonment of up to three years .
We then wonder under which offence and cognizable criminal matter is Chief Dr Patrick Eholor now been invited by the Edo state police command of Nigeria Police Force.
However Chief Dr Patrick Eholor is law abiding citizen and shall definitely seek redress in appropriate courts in this regard.
We also appeal to the Edo State Police Command to kindly request to be updated on this judgement aforementioned and understand by this judgement.
Anyone charged for cyber bullying and sundry offences under section 24 of Cybercrime Protection Act is in pure violation of the ECOWAS judgement as described above. We hope wise reason will prevail in this case.
Samuel Ihensekhien
Country Legal Advisers,
One Love Foundation.