By Frank Ulom
A group under the aegis of Coalition of Cross River State Civil Society Organisations, CCRSCSO, has urged Nigerians and the International community to boycott Carnival Calabar 2019, if detained Journalist and Activist, Agba Jalingo and Joseph Odok, Esq., are not released in the next 48 hours.
This was made known in a press statement signed by Anthony Bissong Attah, Iso Edim, Richard F. Inoyo, Ukorebi Esien, Efio-Ita Nyok and Simon Utsu on Wednesday, December 25, 2019 and made available to THE PARADISE NEWS.
According to CCRSCSO, who said “no conditions” should be attached to the release of the journalist and activist, boycotting the Carnival will show a solidarity stand and a call for Freedom of the Press.
The statement also pointed out that this year’s Carnival-themed “Humanity” should be scraped out as it doesn’t define the festival following the arrest and detention of Jalingo and Odok for over 100 days.
The group said: “In August 2019, His Excellency the Executive Governor of Cross River State, Sen. Ben Ayade, unveiled the theme of the Carnival Calabar 2019 to be —Humanity. However, in the same month of August this year, human rights activist, Agba Jalingo was illegally arrested at his Lagos residence by officers of the Nigerian Police and detained. In the following month of September, Joseph Odok’s arrest was effected. Each of them has spent over a hundred days in detention whereas their trial is yet to commence.”
The CCRSCSO who said they visited Jalingo and Odok on Christmas day in the Custodial Centre in Calabar Correctional Service, Afokang, Calabar, also demanded the replacement of the newly inaugurated Commissioner for Humanity, Blessing Egbara, if she failed in her first official appointment.
“We issue a 48-hour ultimatum demanding the release of the duo activists; Agba Jalingo and Joseph Odok Ph.D., without conditions.
“That if (i) above is not met, we demand that the international community and the generality of the Nigerian public in solidarity with the incarcerated journalist and activist, boycott the 28 December 2019 Carnival celebration in Calabar.
“The first official assignment of the newly inaugurated Commissioner for Humanity in Cross River State, Blessing Egbara, is to comply with (i) above.
“Should the Honourable Commissioner for Humanity fail in her first official assignment, we call on His Excellency the Executive Governor of the State, Sen. Prof. Benedict Ayade, to immediately replace the Humanity-themed Carnival Calabar 2019 with something else in order to avoid a contest of semantics and prevent the misrepresentation of human right reality within Cross River State to Nigerians and the international community”, the CCRSCSO resolved.
They also alleged that the State Government is planning to incarcerate another group of Activists to confirm his tyrannical rule which no one has been bold enough to question.
“We want to notify the powers that be in the state, that we are aware, from our intelligence, that there are 6 activists in your hit list you have marked down to give the Agba Jalingo/Joseph Odok treatment beginning from January 2020. But be rest assured that Cross Riverians are watching, and the world is observing as well – we will not be deterred”, they maintained.