The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for the immediate release of Inibehe Effiong, the lawyer sentenced to one month in prison by Justice Ekaette Obot, the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State.

Effiong was sentenced for standing up for journalist Savior Imukudo.

In a statement released in Abuja on Thursday, Ayuba Wabba, the NLC president, rebuked the chief judge for imprisoning Effiong.

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“Unfortunately, the treatment of Mr. Inibehe Effiong since the commencement of the defamatory case against his client appear to violate the morality of the natural instinct to protect the weak and vulnerable against the mighty and powerful,” Wabba said.

“The ordeal of Mr. Effiong also appear to portray him as an accessory to the crime allegedly committed by his client. This burden becomes heavier given that the order to remand Mr. Effiong in a correctional facility even while the case is still under trial came from the state chief judge who sits on the case. Clearly, the events surrounding this case make no pretence that Mr. Effiong is up and against the mighty and powerful.

“In the pursuit of justice which must not only be served but always seen to have been served fairly, we call on the Akwa Ibom State Chief Judge to be circumspect in her handling of the case which Mr. Inibehe Effiong is defending, considering that his client, Mr. Leo Ekpenyong, made damning allegations against the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Emmanuel Udom.”

Wabba also demanded that Obot recuse herself from presiding over the case and assign it to another judge.

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“We do not believe that it serves the cause of justice and public order for Mr. Inibehe Effiong to be perceived to be punished for doing the job of representing his client,” Wabba said.

“We also find it curious that Mr. Effiong’s lawful request for the order of the court proceedings that sentenced him be released to him was denied more than twenty days after he had filed for the release even when the law provides that such a request should be granted after seven days.”

“Furthermore, the fact that a journalist who was also covering the proceedings of the court the day Mr. Effiong was sentenced was also harassed by Justice Obot who had his recording device confiscated and the contents deleted and the subsequent ill-treatment of Mr. Effiong while in custody lends weight to the suspicion of organized ambush designed to intimidate and cower. The truth is that there is no room for vindictiveness in our laws.

“In order to restore confidence in the case that Mr. Effiong is representing especially given the bad blood that now exists between the trial judge and the defendant’s counsel, it is best that Justice Ekaette Obot recuse herself from presiding over the case and assign the case file to another Judge.”

READ ALSO: Judge Jails Human Rights Lawyer Inibehe Effiong for Standing Up for a Journalist

The union affirmed its responsibility to protect the integrity of the judiciary as it is the last hope of the common man and woman.

FIJ had reported that Effiong was unjustly sent to prison while defending a client in the courtroom.