FG’s Abuse of Terrorism-related Charges

With the frivolous use of terrorism-related allegations by the federal government to hound Nigerians and silence opposing views, Ejiofor Alike writes that the police should provide incontrovertible evidence in their terrorism-financing allegation against the President of Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero to allay fears of the country’s gradual descent to tyranny and authoritarianism

When news broke on December 20, 2022 that the Department of State Services (DSS) had secretly sought for an order of the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, to detain the then Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele for 60 days to conclude an ongoing investigation of terrorism financing allegation against him, many Nigerians had anxiously waited for the secret police to provide the detailed evidence on how the apex bank’s governor funded a terrorist group against his own government.

The allegation against Emefiele became more ridiculous when details emerged in the media that the DSS was accusing him of funding “unknown gunmen” and members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

No serious intelligence agency that is committed to routing out terrorism in Nigeria should have included a sitting CBN governor in the list of suspected financiers of unknown gunmen.

 In a ruling that only became public knowledge 11 days after it was delivered on December 9, Justice Tsoho saw through the secret police’s mischief and, after listening to the legal team of the agency, refused to grant the application for an order against Emefiele.

With the irregularity Justice Tsoho cited in the procedure adopted by the DSS in its application, it turned out that the allegation was a charade designed to get Emefiele out of office.

Emefiele was not the first victim of such frivolous charges against the perceived enemies of the state.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had also charged Agba Jalingo, a Cross River State-based journalist, for terrorism.

The charges against Jalingo were filed in August 2019 before a division of the Federal High Court in Calabar, the Cross River capital.

Jalingo had been in police detention following a report about an alleged diversion of N500million by the then Cross River State governor, Prof. Ben Ayade.

Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana had also in December 2019 raised the alarm that the federal government was planning to charge Omoyele Sowore, convener of the #RevolutionNow movement, with terrorism. 

Former presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu had compared Sowore’s activism to the insurgency in the North-east, saying: “The Boko Haram militants, who are behind the violence, also fancy themselves to be fighting for some sort of revolution.”

Reacting to Shehu’s comments, Falana had stated that comparing Sowore to Boko Haram insurgents was the government’s “justification for the planned arraignment of Sowore for terrorism.”

Sowore was later arraigned for treasonable felony.

But his trial made no significant progress as the prosecution was only able to call one witness in more than four years, with frequent adjournments based on one excuse or the other mostly from the prosecution.

It was not surprising that the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), withdrew the treasonable felony charges slammed on the pro-democracy activist in February 2024 after the DSS had wasted the taxpayer’s money on frivolous allegation.

Despite withdrawing the charges against Sowore, the administration of President Bola Tinubu has continued with former President Buhari’s tradition of hanging terrorism-related allegations on the voices of dissent, with journalists as the greatest victims.

Recounting his 14-day ordeals while in the custody of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), a journalist, Segun Olatunji, who was the General Editor of online news platform First News, said he was accused of terrorism for writing a story about the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila.

“They asked me to write an apology to the Chief of Staff to the President that I’m sorry for writing the story and that I will no longer be a terrorist because they also accused me of terrorism,” Olatunji reportedly said.

While the DSS and DIA were swift in uncovering the imaginary “acts of terrorism” linked to Emefiele and Olatunji, they have failed to deploy the same intelligence to uncover the criminal kingpins that have made the country’s highways, waterways, markets, homes, schools and farms unsafe for Nigerians.

Under the present administration, the police have become notorious for abducting journalists based on frivolous allegations, while bandits, kidnappers and other terrorists hold the country to ransom.

It is against the increasing use of frivolous charges to silence opposing views and journalists that the recent allegation of terrorism financing against the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, by the Nigeria Police has become suspicious.

In a letter dated August 19, 2024, and signed by ACP Adamu Muazu on behalf of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Intelligence Response Team, the police gave Ajaero a very short notice to appear before their investigative team on the next day, August 20, over allegations of terrorism financing, treasonable felony, cybercrime and other related offences. 

The letter also warned that a warrant of arrest would be issued if Ajaero failed to comply.

Ajaero and the NLC have been having a running battle with the federal government over issues relating to the welfare of the Nigerian workers.

The union had accused the police of invading the Labour House, as its Abuja headquarters is called, around 8:30 pm, on August 8.

“They broke in and ransacked the bookshop on the 2nd floor carting away hundreds of books and other publications.

“The invading troop claimed that they were looking for seditious materials used for the #EndBadGovernance Protests,” a statement by the NLC’s head of Media and Public Relations, Benson Upah, had explained.

But in a swift response, the police authorities had said it did not invade the union’s secretariat but only traced a suspected foreign criminal to the building, which coincidentally houses the union’s headquarters.

“We emphasise that this operation had no connection with the NLC, its secretariat, staff or leadership,” Force spokesperson, Prince Muyiwa Adejobi, had explained in a statement.

However, Ajaero’s curious invitation by the police in less than two weeks after the invasion of NLC secretariat, has punctured a hole in the claim by the police authorities that the invasion had no connection with the union or its leadership.

Is the allegation of terrorism financing another ploy by the federal government to silence the uncompromising Ajaero or remove him as the NLC president to pave the way for the emergence of a more pliant labour leader, who will do government’s bidding?

This is a question Nigerians are waiting for an answer.

With the public outcry that greeted the invitation and the threat by the NLC and other groups to shut down the economy, it is obvious that the Nigerian government has overreached itself in the use of terrorism-related allegations to silence opposing views.

Nigerians are waiting for the police to provide incontrovertible evidence to prove the allegation against Ajaero.