Amnesty International on Wednesday categorised three Nigerians as prisoners of conscience, slamming their continued incarceration as politically motivated and demanding their immediate release.
Omoyele Sowore, Olawale Bakare and Agba Jalingo, journalists and rights activists, have been facing charges of treason and money laundering since August. Messrs Sowore and Bakare remained locked up despite a federal court order for their release.
Mr Jalingo, an activist and community newspaper publisher in Nigeria’s southern Cross River State, has been repeatedly handcuffed from prison to court and denied bail on grounds that civic groups said were unjustifiable.
“We consider Sowore, Jalingo and Bakare to be prisoners of conscience detained solely for exercising their human rights,” Seun Bakare, programmes director at Amnesty International Nigeria office, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
“The Nigerian authorities must drop all charges against them and release them immediately and unconditionally.”
