The League of Civil Society Organizations in Kano State has condemned what it described a grave violation of constitutional rights and judicial authority concerning the ongoing detention of an Ebonyi State-based civic activist and human rights defender, Comrade Emmanuel Acha.
Acha has been held at the Abakaliki Correctional Centre, Ebonyi State, since March 2025, notwithstanding a valid and subsisting order of a court of competent jurisdiction directing his release.
He was allegedly arrested in retaliation for a civil suit he filed in December 2024, Suit No: FHC/AI/CS/FHR/221/24, challenging government actions in relation to the protracted Effium-Ezza land dispute in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
This land conflict, which escalated into inter-communal violence in 2021, has drawn multiple state interventions including the 2023 ceasefire agreement, the 2024 Bishop Michael N. Okoro Peace Committee, and the 2025 amnesty and deradicalization programme.
The Kano CSO league in an open letter to the Office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ebonyi State, on Friday, regretted that the allegations against Acha were inconsistent with his documented civic work and appear to constitute an abuse of prosecutorial and security powers.
The statement signed by over 22 CSOs and issued by Comrade Bala Abdullahi Gaduwama, the Executive Director of Wuro Development Concerns (WDCN), said Acha’s arrest, prolonged incarceration, and the prosecution’s conduct raise serious concerns under constitutional and statutory safeguards.
They noted the judgement of the Federal High Court, Abakaliki, in Suit No FHC/AI/FHR/31/2025, delivered on 22 October 2025, which ordered the immediate and unconditional release of Comrade Acha, an order they said remains binding, final, and enforceable unless set aside by a superior court.
The league, however, regretted that the judgment has been flagrantly disregarded, in contravention of Sections of the Nigerian Constitution which guarantees personal liberty and prohibits unlawful detention, as well as mandates all authorities and persons to obey and give effect to decisions of the Federal High Court.
“The continued detention of Comrade Acha, in clear defiance of a binding court order, constitutes not only a violation of his fundamental rights but also an affront to the rule of law, separation of powers, and the integrity of the judiciary.
Such actions, if allowed to persist, set a dangerous precedent that undermines public confidence in the legal system and threatens the constitutional order,” the group said.
The group called on the Ebonyi Commissioner for Justice to take immediate steps to ensure the enforcement of the Federal High Court judgment of 22 October 2025, effecting the immediate and unconditional release of Comrade Emmanuel Acha, and to review and direct the withdrawal of all charges that lack evidentiary or prosecutorial merit and are indicative of political or retaliatory motives.
It also called for an independent and transparent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his arrest, detention, and prosecutorial handling, urging the Commissioner to issue directives to relevant security and prosecutorial bodies to prevent the continued misuse of legal processes against civic actors and human rights defenders.
The open letter wrote; “Your timely intervention is both legally required and necessary to protect the sanctity of the judiciary, uphold constitutional rights, and prevent further erosion of Nigeria’s civic space.
Comrade Acha’s continued incarceration despite a court’s directive is incompatible with the rule of law and detrimental to the administration of justice.
“We trust that your office will act promptly and decisively in accordance with its constitutional obligations and in the interest of justice.”
