Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Thursday, gave the Federal and Ekiti State Governments 48-hour ultimate to release a human rights lawyer, Dr. Dele Farotimi, from remand or face mass protests.
Frank, who made the call in a statement in reaction to the arrest and remand of Farotimi, called on Nigerians to occupy all police stations and formations in the country should the government fail to release the human rights activist unconstitutionally within the stipulated time beginning from when he was remanded.
LEADERSHIP reports that an Ekiti State Chief Magistrates Court, Ado Ekiti Division, had on Wednesday, ordered the remand of Farotimi,in the state’s correctional centre.
Farotimi was arraigned in court over alleged defamation of character following his book, ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’ where he alleged, among others, that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Afe Babalola, had compromised the Supreme Court.
However, Frank said there was more to the arrest and remand of Farotimi than the alleged defamation alibi.
He said the remand was a way by the Federal Government to intimidate and harass Farotimi for often criticising the anti-people policies of the President Bola Tinubu administration.
He condemned the arrest and remand of Farotimi even as he condemned the police and the judiciary for turning themselves into the oppressive arm of the present administration.
According to him, Farotimi doesn’t deserve his current travails because he is a man who believes in and respects the rule of law.
“Farotimi is a man of truth, a man of principle and a defender of democracy. If they believe he has done anything inappropriate, they should have invited him peacefully and he honour their invitation rather than the way he was arrested and subsequently remanded on an alleged offence that is bailable under the Nigerian law.
“This shows clearly that it is not because of the petition from Afe Babalola that is making them to give Farotimi this highly dehumanizing experience. There is more to the arrest because Farotimi is known to be a vocal critic of the government,” he stated.
Frank, who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, called on Nigerians to join in the fight to free Farotimi from remand and equally stop the government from using state institutions to oppress and suppress Nigerians speaking out against their dictatorial and hardship-inducing policies, saying, it is Farotimi today, it may be another Nigerian tomorrow.”
He quoted a German Pastor Martin Niemöller who said: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”