The legal consultant to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, Aloy Ejimakor, has described the prosecution of the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, as terrible optics ahead of the 2027 election.
Ejimakor, in a post via his 𝕏 handle, recalled the political trial and conviction of Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the 1960s, which he said helped spark a crisis that eventually plunged Nigeria into a military coup and a devastating civil war, reports say.
Ejimakor said the use of such heavy-handed tactics against political opponents close to an election cycle is a dangerous gamble.
He also urged President Bola Tinubu to rethink the wisdom of prosecuting Sowore over something as trivial as a social media post.
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“It’s a dangerous gamble to use such heavy-handed tactics against political opponents around an election cycle,” he said.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, Lateef Fagbemi’s surprise appearance in court on July 27 was a missed chance to put the brakes on.
Next time, instead of stepping up the state’s attack on a live presidential candidate, the Attorney-General should go back to court and enter a nolle prosequi and end the case.
“Trying a presidential candidate so close to the general election is awful democratic optics.
It gives off weakness and fear of opposition rather than confidence in democracy. It is time to close the case and protect our democratic stability.”
