Jailed Lawyer Recounts Experience
Infibehe Effiong, a human rights lawyer who was jailed for contempt of court, has recounted his experience in prison.
In an interview with The Punch, he says his one–month prison experience was dehumanizing.The lawyer, who was sentenced to prison by the Chief Judge of Nigeria’s Akwa Ibom state, Ekaete Obot, says he wasn’t accorded the right of fair hearing. He also says he was neither charged nor given a trial.
According to him, the prison itself “is terribly and disgustingly congested.” He likens the way inmates live to that of animals. He likens it to a Nazi Concentration camp.
However, he had to pay the sum of 50,000 Nigerian Naira to be accommodated in a “special cell.” There, although they were only three in the room, there was no bed. So, they had to put their mattresses on the floor. Since there was no net either, they were bitten by mosquitoes.
He says the food wasn’t fit for human consumption.
He says he was maltreated and dehumanized. He was tortured, battered, handcuffed, yelled at and thrown into an open van.
They even went ̂to the extent of shaving him.
The human rights community in Nigeria had taken some legal actions while he was in prison. He says other legal actions will be taken now, especially his appeal against his sentence.
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