Nigeria’s Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) has subtly condemned the alleged invasion of the court to arrest Omoyele Sowore by declining to receive an anti-corruption award.
Prof Osinbajo has been criticised by many Nigerians for not commenting publicly on the Friday invasion of an Abuja Federal High Court by operatives of the State Security Service.
In what can be considered his first public statement on the matter, Osinbajo told the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) that he could not receive an award he had been given, few days after the court fiasco.
“… in view of the developments on Friday in the Sowore case, I think it would be insensitive and inappropriate to attend the ceremony,” Osinbajo wrote to the award organisers on Sunday.
Prof Osinbajo had been named as the recipient of the Integrity Specialty of the Anti-Corruption Defender Award for his “invaluable work of overhauling the Lagos State Judiciary, facilitating far-reaching reforms in the administration of justice in the state, his work of promoting integrity in the civil society and business in Nigeria and his consistency as a strong voice for promoting integrity in the country.”
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However, in a message to the organisers of the award, Osinbajo said though he accepts the award, he could not receive it at this time for two reasons.
“The award, I note, is for our Justice reform efforts in Lagos State. I had accepted the award with pride on behalf of the excellent Justice Sector team we had.
“However, two reasons explain my absence. First is that I am currently in Abu Dhabi for an international meeting under the auspices of the government of the UAE where I am the keynote speaker.
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“Second, in view of the developments on Friday in the Sowore case, I think it would be insensitive and inappropriate to attend the ceremony,” the vice president said.
Although the SSS later released a statement claiming its officials did not invade the court, Femi Falana, the counsel to Mr Sowore, said the head of the SSS team to the court apologised to Mrs Ojukwu for the invasion.
That court invasion and re-arrest of Sowore has been condemned by many Nigerians as well as civil society groups.
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A lot of the criticism of the SSS action was directed at Osinbajo who is the second topmost official of the Buhari presidency.
The SSS Director-General reports directly to the president.
Without outrightly condemning the court invasion and Sowore’s rearrest, Osinbajo’s reaction to his award appears to show his disdain of the SSS’ action.
Earlier on Monday, the award organisers admitted they had received a communication from the vice president.
They announced a postponement of the award to Osinbajo, also citing the treatment of Sowore.
The centre had on Monday postponed the presentation of the award to the vice president following outrage over the conduct of the State Security Service at an Abuja court last Friday.
“The postponement was decided on, to align with protests against the repression of freedom of speech in recent times especially the incident between the Department of State Security (DSS) and Omoyele Sowore, Publisher of Sahara Reporters, on Friday 6 December. The Vice President himself shares this awareness and the inappropriateness of the award at this point,” Motunrayo Alaka, the Executive Director of the WSCIJ said.
The WSCIJ holds the award presentation event on December 9, the World Anti-Corruption Day and eve of the World Human Rights Day to highlight the importance of investigative reporting as a tool for accountability, good governance and social justice in a democracy.
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Apart from Osinbajo, awards would also be given to outstanding investigative journalists at the ceremony.
Amnesty International, a global movement promoting human rights in Nigeria and beyond, was also to be honoured with the Human Rights Specialty of the Anti-Corruption Defender Award for its
“remarkable voice against human rights violations and oppressive laws, and its efforts to defend freedom of expression in Nigeria.”
www.sojworldnews.com (c) December 10, 2019
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