By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The pan Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere, on Monday asked the government of the Republic of Benin to without wasting time,
Afenifere in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi expressed its disappointment and regret over the extension of Chief Igboho’s incarceration.
According to the Pan Yoruba Socio political organisation, the extension will no doubt further dent the receding image of Republic of Benin on its respect for the rule of law.
Afenifere emphasized that ” extending the detention of anyone who had not been convicted of any offence is against the law of any country that claims to be guided by the rule of law.”
The Pan Yoruba Socio political organisation lamented that it was unfortunate that as at present, Sunday Igboho has spent about 204 days in Benin detention”, saying, ” this is much longer than it should be for a person who had not been convicted of any offence and a person who is not a criminal by any standard”.
According to Afenifere, Republic of Benin ” deserves a better record”, and that “its extension of Igboho’s detention would only worsen its image if not reversed”, saying. Republic of Benin should not descend to the level of Nigeria which ranks 121st out 139. Meaning that Nigeria is worse on the scale.
” A 2021 Report by The World Justice Project (WJP) placed Benin at 91st position out of 139 countries where the rule of law is not being respected. Matter of fact, the country’s overall rule of law score decreased 2.3% in the 2021 Index as it fell three positions in global ranking. The score placed the country (Benin) at 11th position out of 33 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region and 14th out of 35 among lower-middle income countries” .
It however commended Chief Igboho’s lead counsel, Chief Yomi Alliyu (SAN) “for his doggedness in pursuing Igboho’s case” , saying Chief “Alliyu’s decision to resort to the ECOWAS Court to challenge the extension is quite welcomed. We are prayerful that the Court will reverse the decision by the Benin Court and set Igboho free soonest.”
