A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Jibrin Okutepa, has condemned the continued detention of legal practitioner Chinedu Agu, describing it as a “lawless act” that exposes the judiciary’s intolerance of free expression and its growing compromise.
In a strongly worded statement on his X account, Okutepa said Agu’s only “offence” was speaking truth to power and demanding constitutional order in Imo State.
“In a sane and truly democratic nation, Chinedu Agu Esq has no business being kept in detention by the judiciary for expressing genuine concerns and criticisms of the rottenness of the very institutions and government that profess righteousness and the rule of law,” Okutepa said.
He recalled that Agu had approached the court to compel the governor of Imo State to respect the constitutional provision which mandates the appointment of the most senior judge as acting Chief Judge when the office becomes vacant.
“Chinedu was right in my view to insist that the right thing be done. Then came NJC whose decision vindicated Chinedu, the apostle of constitutionalism. He was fighting for orderliness and the rule of law in the treatment of the judiciary and the judicial institution,” the SAN stated.
Okutepa also noted that Agu’s remarks comparing governance in Enugu and Imo States were within his constitutional right to free speech.
“Then he opined in the exercise of his freedom of expression that Enugu State was better governed than Imo State. He may be wrong or right. That is the right donated to him and other Nigerians by the Nigerian constitution. What is the offence of Chinedu?” he queried.
He expressed shock that the same judiciary Agu was defending had now become the tool for his persecution.
“Yet Chinedu is in detention at the instance of the very institution he was fighting for. Nigeria is in a state of absurdity. No sane society should use the judicial system to perpetuate such an evil act against a citizen,” he said.
The senior lawyer accused the judiciary of abandoning its role as the last hope of the common man and allowing itself to be captured.
“The spark of the judiciary as an institution of checks and balances appears to have gone. Where the judiciary has decided not to exercise such power under arid caricature adjudications that fail to address violations of rights, then one is at a loss about the utilitarian value of the institution of justice,” Okutepa lamented.
Calling for Agu’s immediate release, Okutepa warned against using the judiciary to suppress dissent.
“Why must Chinedu remain in detention? Where is the rule of law in Nigeria? Using the judicial system as an instrument of pervasion is in my view a lawless act of adjudication. It is time to release Chinedu and all those being illegally detained in Nigeria,” he declared.
He concluded by urging the judiciary to rediscover its courage and restore hope to the oppressed.
“Nigerians want a firm and courageous judiciary that restores hope to the hopeless and grants remedies to the unjust abuse of power either by the most powerful or feudal overlords masquerading as political leaders,” he added.
