Nigerian human rights advocate Hassan Soweto has expressed concerns over the developing situation surrounding Dele Farotimi’s detention.
Speaking on News Central’s Jasiri, Soweto described the case as one that goes beyond the individual, warning that it poses a potential threat to everyone’s rights in Nigeria.
He pointed to a worrying trend, recalling efforts earlier in the year to criminalise protests by equating them with treason.
“The ordeal that the Dele Farotimi is passing through now is in many ways, you know, something that affects all of us. Many people don’t know that yet, but we are going to know it very soon.
“Don’t forget that they started in August by criminalising protests, saying that protest is treason, and if you protest, then you are liable to be condemned to death,” he said.
“Now, with the Dele Farotimi, what they are saying is that even verbal or written criticism of anybody, especially those highly-placed, cannot so end you in a few months or a few years in prison,” he warned.
Soweto urged citizens, the media, non-governmental organisations, and other groups to take a stand.
“This is an assault against free speech, and that is why all Nigerian people, the media, you know, NGOs, even faith-based organisations, youth groups, trade unions, must actually be very, very interested in what is happening. We have to say that we stand against this tyranny,” he stated.
The activist questioned the actions of the state police, particularly the resources used in Farotimi’s arrest.
“We have to say that this assault on democratic right and free speech must stop, because it is not just a case of an individual against another. Which individual really can be able to get an entire police force of a state to travel to another state, you know, to arrest another person because of a matter of a disagreement on questions of, you know, previous engagement they have had in the law court?” He questioned.
“If you go to the police station to report a case of stolen vehicle, you must pay to track it. So the question, therefore, is that, what is the budget of the state police force?
“How did they fund the expedition from Ekiti to Lagos State to harass, assault, and arrest a citizen of this country, of Lagos State, and take him back to Ekiti State? Who funded it? And I think that when we ask these questions, we are likely going to realise that there are more to this issue than just what is happening right now,” he added.
“I know that everything I’m saying now also means that I’m liable to be called out for so-called defamation, but it must be clear…,” he concluded.
