A United States-based non-governmental organisation, Justice For All Nations (JFAN), has criticised the call by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Amnesty International Nigeria for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to order the withdrawal of criminal charges on cybercrimes filed against activist Omoyele Sowore, describing the move as self-serving and hypocritical.
In a statement signed by its Coordinator, Dr. Dada Popoola, JFAN insisted that Sowore must face trial, adding that he should be ready to produce the court judgment in which President Tinubu was allegedly convicted to justify his statement. The group accused Amnesty International of turning itself into a defender of impunity, blackmail, and what it termed “activism for cash,” which it claimed Sowore is known for.
JFAN also described SERAP as “some people’s business enterprise” under the guise of a civil society organisation, saying it was not surprising that the group was defending someone who called the Nigerian President a criminal. The organisation questioned whether, in the United States where Sowore resides, any citizen who has not been convicted by a court of law could openly be called a criminal without consequence.
The NGO further faulted Amnesty International and SERAP for allegedly keeping silent during the 2019 governorship election crisis in Rivers State, where violence broke out. It claimed that in the bid to rig the election for a candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), which Sowore reportedly sold to former Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s candidate, people were killed, including Dr. Ferry Gberegbe, a lecturer at the Ken Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori.
“In their desperate bid to rig the 2019 governorship election in Rivers State for Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s candidate that Sowore sold the AAC ticket to, one of those who were killed was Dr. Ferry Gberegbe. What did Amnesty International and SERAP do then?” JFAN said.
The group urged Nigeria’s anti-corruption and security agencies to investigate the activities of some civil society organisations and rights activists, alleging that many of them serve as vehicles for money laundering and terrorism financing.
