The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has demanded the immediate release of Nasarawa activist Abdulkarim Allanana, popularly known as Oscar Keana, warning that the continued detention of a citizen over alleged publications against a sitting governor is capable of sending a chilling message to every Nigerian who dares to criticise those in power.
HURIWA considers the continued incarceration and transfer of Keana deeply disturbing, particularly against the background of reports that additional charges may be brought against him. The government must not turn the criminal justice system into a conveyor belt for keeping a critic behind bars.
Allanana, a media activist and leader of the Indigenous People of Nasarawa State, was recently remanded by the Federal High Court sitting in Lafia after being arraigned by the Department of State Services (DSS) on a two-count charge bordering on alleged false information against Governor Abdullahi Sule.
The court has adjourned the matter until November 26 for the hearing of his bail application. HURIWA is informed that Allanana has now been moved from the Lafia Custodial Centre to the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Nasarawa. We ask a simple question: why should a citizen who has not been convicted of any offence be subjected to circumstances that could further complicate or prolong his detention?
More disturbing are reports that fresh charges are being contemplated against the activist.
HURIWA stresses that it has not independently verified the alleged plan to file additional charges. But if such a move is being contemplated merely to frustrate his release or prolong his detention, that would represent a dangerous abuse of the criminal justice process and an affront to the principles of constitutional democracy.
The government of Nigeria cannot proclaim respect for democracy while citizens allegedly face escalating legal jeopardy whenever their voices become uncomfortable to those holding political office. Public office is not a licence to silence criticism. A governor is not a monarch. A critic is not a criminal merely because his words are inconvenient.
HURIWA therefore warns all state actors involved in this matter that constitutional freedoms are not gifts from political office holders. They are rights guaranteed to citizens and protected by the Constitution.
No subsidiary legislation should be stretched, distorted or weaponised to achieve what the Constitution itself does not permit. If Keana committed an offence, let the prosecution present its evidence before the court and allow the judicial process to take its lawful course.
But HURIWA will strongly resist any attempt to transform detention into punishment before conviction or to use successive allegations as a mechanism for keeping an accused person perpetually behind bars. Detention must not become the punishment.
The presumption of innocence must mean something in Nigeria. The right to personal liberty must mean something. The freedom of expression must mean something. And the right to criticise government must mean something.
HURIWA therefore demands that the authorities stop any attempt to manipulate the process against Oscar Keana and facilitate his immediate release on lawful bail conditions, subject to the determination of the court.
We equally call on the judiciary to remain vigilant against any process that could unnecessarily deprive the accused of his liberty or frustrate his constitutional right to a fair hearing. HURIWA will not stand by while the machinery of government is allegedly deployed in a manner that could intimidate citizens into silence.
Nigeria did not return to constitutional democracy so that citizens could be frightened into submission by the threat of detention. Those entrusted with state power must understand that the strength of democracy is demonstrated not by how ruthlessly government responds to its critics, but by how confidently it tolerates dissent and allows the law to determine disputes.
HURIWA consequently calls on Governor Abdullahi Sule, the DSS, the Nigerian Correctional Service, and the relevant judicial authorities to ensure that Oscar Keana is not made a victim of the abuse of state power. Free Oscar Keana now. Let the court decide his case. Let democracy breathe.
