The Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State, Ekaette Obot, has sent a human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, to prison.
Effiong who is handling a case for his client, Leo Ekpeyong before Justice Obot’s court in Uyo disclosed this in a message he posted on his WhatsApp status around 10:40 a.m. on Wednesday.
Recall that the rights lawyer had last month accused the judge of bias in handling the libel suit filled against his client by Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom state.
The governor sued Ekpeyong for accusing him of buying judgment.
“I have been sent to Uyo prison by the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State, Justice Ekaette Obot, for one month for defending Leo Ekpenyong in a libel suit filed by Governor Udom Emmanuel,” Effiong said in the message.
The Lagos based lawyer later posted on his twitter what transpired in the court before Justice Obot ordered that he be sent to prison.
He said: “Akwa Ibom ordered a Premium Times reporter to leave the court. I said my lord, we were thinking that since the proceeding is public, that members of the public should be allowed to observe the proceeding. My Lord asked me to proceed with cross examination,” he wrote.
“I will be going to the Uyo Correctional Centre now. I have not done anything. I wasn’t even opportunity to say anything before the “conviction”. Two lawyers in court appealed to the Hon. Chief Judge but my Lord insisted that I must be jailed.”
Effiong had last month accused the judge of bias in her handling of a libel suit filed against him by the state governor.
The governor had sued Ekpenyong for defamation of character over a publication in which he accused the governor of “buying judgment” from the 2019 National Assembly Election Tribunal.
In a motion on notice filed by Effiong, he asked Justice Obot to reassign the case to a neutral judge.
He accused the Chief Judge of impunity, bias and violation of the code of conduct.
