Prominent rights activist and social crusader, Bolaji O. Akinyemi, has issued a strong call for the Federal Government of Nigeria and its officials to adhere strictly to the rule of law in the administration of criminal justice.
He expressed deep concern that the nation is endangering its judicial and democratic foundations by displaying weak and lackadaisical tendencies towards criminal activities that demand firm judgments.
Akinyemi, who serves as the Board of Trustees Chairman for Project Victory Call Initiatives, made these remarks during an interaction with journalists in Abakaliki. His comments were a direct response to recent court rulings in Canada and Finland that involved Nigerian political entities.
He highlighted a ruling by a Canadian immigration court which found that membership in Nigeria’s dominant political parties, the PDP and APC, could be grounds for inadmissibility into the country due to associations with systemic violence and the subversion of democratic institutions.
In a separate case, Bolaji Akinyemi noted, a Finnish district court convicted self-proclaimed Biafran Prime Minister-in-Exile, Simon Ekpa, on terrorism-related charges and sentenced him to six years in prison. The activist argued that these two international judgments serve as an undeniable mirror for Nigeria, revealing that the global community condemns the use of violence, whether by political parties or separatist movements.
He stated that the Nigerian government cannot applaud the sentencing of Ekpa while ignoring the Canadian court’s indictment of its main political parties, calling such selective approval the highest form of hypocrisy.
Bolaji Akinyemi further criticised Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its failure to sanitise the political space and curb the violence and electoral malpractices that have become normalised.
He concluded that Nigeria must decide whether to continue exporting political violence or embrace the hard work of building a nation where justice and non-violence underpin its politics.
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cc: Daily Post NG
