Tonye Okio is the citizen who used the public forum offered by Social Networking site Facebook to draw attention to the misgovernance in Bayelsa State, his state of origin. For daring to exercise his rights to freedom of speech and political opinion, Okio was abducted in the wee hours of the night by a team of Police under instructions from Governor Seriake Dickson.
In this interview with The Nation, Doifie Buokoribo, a human rights activist, speaks on the impunity of the Governor and the travails of the less powerful Nigerian citizen, Tonye Okio.
Tell us the events that led to Tonye Okio’s arrest and why?
Mr. Tonye Okio has been in detention since October 26. He was abducted from his residence in Abuja on October 26, by armed gunmen who didn’t explain their mission, nobody knew where they came from, and they didn’t identify themselves. We got to know that same day through a phone call by his sister who lived with him.
His sister was there?
When they got to the house, they forced their way into his house; they seized all their electronic gadgets to prevent them from reaching for outside help. When they took him, they just locked the young girl up inside the house and left. They didn’t tell her where they were taking him to, when that happened, we thought he had been kidnapped and there was panic everywhere. We tried to contact all the police stations nearby, nobody had any information.
We called a contact in the Force headquarters who asked us to give him some time and we got to know it was the police from Bayelsa sent by Governor Dickson that had taken him and we tried to trace where he was and found he was at the Abuja headquarters of the police. So we were able to track him down and it was strange that the police had to come all the way from Bayelsa to come and arrest a citizen. Ordinarily, even if he had committed an offense, the thing to do is to possibly approach a magistrate court and get an order for his arrest.
Even if the police needed him to explain anything, they would have invited him, but in this instance no such invitations were given, they just came and seized him and locked him up.
You said his arrest was on the orders of the Bayelsa State governor, do you have a proof of the governor’s involvement in this despicable act?
There is no evidence you need than the fact that the governor himself had complained to the police that Mr. Tonye Okio defamed him. And the police itself did issue a statement that they have arrested Mr. Tonye Okio for seditious publication. But sadly, maybe the police didn’t know that there was no such offense called seditious publication under our laws. There is no such an offense in our statue books, but at the end of the day they charged him for criminal defamation.
Please continue, when he was taken to the Police Headquarters in Abuja?
They just took him there possibly to lodge a formal report. The idea was to fly him to Yenagoa the same day, but somehow, they couldn’t do their ticketing and flight arrangement properly; so, when that failed, they then took him by road that same Saturday that he was abducted, they drove all night and arrived at Yenagoa at 3: am.
Drove from Abuja?
Yes they drove all night.
In what condition was he transported to Yenagoa?
From the affidavit sworn to by the lawyer, we gathered that he was chained legs and feet, blindfolded throughout the whole journey so he didn’t even know where he was, till they got to Bayelsa. We were told that he was taken to Government House where a set of fresh instructions were given before he was driven to the state CID where he was held for well over 10 days. Now during the period when he was held, he had to file for the reinforcement of his fundamental human rights because under our laws you cannot hold him for more than 24 hours.
A day before the hearing of the suit, the police played a smart one by taking him to a magistrate court without prior information to him or his lawyers. The magistrate read the charges and when he pleaded not guilty the judge did a kangaroo stuff and remanded him and adjourned for two weeks.
So he was taken back to the magistrate court after two weeks?
Yes, this time the matter was properly heard, they applied for bail which the magistrate admitted him to under the condition that a serving permanent secretary in Bayelsa has to stand in for him with the sum of N5million. Now, Dickson is a complainant in this matter, every permanent secretary in Bayelsa is scared stiff to be involved in this matter. For an agent of the governor to come and release somebody the governor himself has locked up. You can imagine that kind of situation. There is no permanent secretary who is ready to stand surety for Tonye and his lawyer actually complained to the judge that this condition is not likely to be met because the complainant is the governor and the permanent secretaries are his agents.
The sad thing is that it will appear that even the judiciary in Bayelsa is working in cahoots with the governor.
Is that the only condition the court could have given him?
That is what they have done, so technically they will say nobody is holding him, let him meet his bail conditions and go away but these are conditions Tonye cannot meet. The governor is the chief complainant in this matter, he is being represented in court as a complainant along with the police and then you ask his agents to come and bail him. What Tonye has now done is to apply to the High Court of Bayelsa for a variation of the bail condition. Three times the judge didn’t turn up until they fixed December 18 for a ruling, on that day too, the judge didn’t turn up, and the registrar then adjourned the matter to January 20. So we have a situation where an innocent young man, for exercising his rights to free speech has been in detention for well over two months, he has spent Christmas there and will spend the New Year, how callous can people be?
Let’s revert to the accusations against him; do you have an insight into what this accusation could be?
It was on the basis of his comments on Facebook. He was alleged to have written on his facebook page that a certain Southsouth governor has been caught with hard currencies in the USA; he didn’t mention any name of the governor but apparently governor Dickson was out of the country so maybe through innuendoes he felt he was the one. So for me as an activist and a Nigerian citizen, I expect if somebody has been defamed the option is to go to court not to use the police to harass anybody. The law doesn’t permit that. Dickson unfortunately is a lawyer and it is sad that an officer of the law can behave in this reckless manner he has chosen. He doesn’t own Bayelsa, it belongs to all of us, we are all citizens equal before the law. He is just a mere tenant in government house. Indeed, he was not elected governor by appointed by Governor Goodluck Jonathan who prevented Chief Sylva from standing for re-election.
You sound as if there is a political tone to this?
Certainly, make no mistakes about it, this is clearly a political vendetta, Tonye on his page has consistently criticised both Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Seriake Dickson. He believes they have not given the best to Bayelsa and to Nigeria, he believes they are a huge embarrassment to the people of Bayelsa state, Ijaw nation, to Nigerians and the black race. There is so much to be done both in the state and the federal level; there is now a state of anomy, so much lethargy. All you hear are stories of corruption, scandals. This is the worst of times to come from Bayelsa state, the worst of times to be identified as an Ijaw person. The kind of leadership that is offered by governor Dickson and his master Dr. Jonathan is so disappointing.
Is that the crusade of Tonye Okio?
Exactly, he believes we can do better. The only reason why he has to be abducted, arrested, kept in prison custody and kept him away for this long is to send a message that anyone who opposes the system will end up like Tonye, unfortunately they have not succeeded and they will not succeed. This style has been used by little dictators in the past and it has not worked.
As a civil society activist who has also been critical of the government, do you have any fears for your freedom?
I have come very far as an activist. As a teenager and young person I have led the student movement. I am far older now to entertain any fear from the little dictator. I was a pro democracy activist under the Babangida and Abacha dictatorship; I was a political journalist at The News/Tempo to entertain any fear. Nobody can fault my professional standing, whatever I say, I am prepared to defend anywhere in the world. But we have lawless elements that have no respects for the rules they themselves made, but God determines our life.
How is Tonye faring now?
It is better imagined than experienced, we should not wish this for our enemies, when you are deprived of your freedom from your family at this period. What this means is that they don’t have the intellectual capacity and the grace and broadmindedness to lead the people. If they cannot take criticism they have no right being in government. Tonye has only acted as a citizen to make political demands on the government. Nigeria belongs to us all, if you are a temporary occupant in government house, you have no greater right than others. For Dickson, am not sure he would pray his successor will treat Bayelsans the way he is treating them.