Foreign activists write Malami, ask FG to stop Suraju’s forgery trial

A day to the arraignment of Olanrewaju Suraju, renowned anti-corruption activist, on charges of circulating allegedly forged email and audio tape, some foreign activists have asked Abubakar Malami, the attorney-general of the federation (AGF), to halt the trial.

In a joint letter to the AGF which the activists shared with TheCable, they threatened to report Nigeria to “our governments and international human rights bodies” over the case.

The office of the AGF has refused to react officially to the letter, but an official of the justice ministry told TheCable that “Sujaru should prepare to defend himself in court as he has always promised to do”.

Suraju, who is the chairman of HEDA Resource Centre, also recently petitioned Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, seeking his intervention in the trial “to save Nigeria from international embarrassment”.

He is being charged with cyber stalking for allegedly circulating  the audio of a phone interview said to have been stage-managed to implicate Mohammed Bello Adoke, a former attorney-general of the federation (AGF), in the OPL 245 saga.

He is also accused of circulating a forged email purportedly sent to one Bayo Osolake of JP Morgan, UK, by Adoke from the account of AA Properties, owned by Abubakar Aliyu — who was accused of distributing bribes in the transaction.

Adoke denied granting the interview or sending the email and petitioned the police to investigate.

An Italian court had ruled in March 2021 that there was no corruption in the OPL 245 deal and subsequently discharged and acquitted Shell, Eni and others on trial.

The Italian appeal court also overturned the four-year jail sentence of Emeka Obi, a Nigerian, and Gianluca Di Nardo, an Italian, who had been convicted for their role as middlemen in the deal.

Fabio De Pasquale and Sergio Spadaro, the Italian prosecutors in the OPL 245 trial, are now facing investigation by the Italian ministry of justice over allegations of manipulating evidence to secure conviction by unlawful means.

‘WE WILL MONITOR THE CASE’

In their joint statement, the foreign activists said they will be “closely monitoring the progress of the case”.

They wrote: “Our attention has been drawn to press reports of an indictment, approved by your office, against Olanrewaju Suraju, chair of the anti-corruption and human right group HEDA, for alleged cyberstalking.

“As at the time of writing, we are assured that Mr Suraju has neither been served with the indictment (despite its circulation in the press) nor provided with any evidence supporting the charges.

“We note that the indictment alleges offences under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act.

“We also note that the cyberstalking charges accuse Mr Suraju of having circulated documents that were accepted as evidence by courts in Italy and/or the United Kingdom.

“We are gravely concerned by the intended prosecution of Mr Suraju.

“It is a fundamental right to report on court proceedings and the use of the Cybercrimes Act to criminalise those who exercise that right is alarming.

“We are also shocked that Nigeria should still be using the Act given the recent ruling by the ECOWAS court that the Act is unconstitutional and must be repealed.

“For Nigeria to ignore this ruling will send a regrettable signal that the current government does not respect international treaties to which it is a Party. Indeed, your own office has accepted that the Act needs amending.

“We would therefore urge you to reconsider the indictment of Mr Suraju.

“We will be closely monitoring the progress of the case and will draw our concerns to the attention of our governments and international human rights bodies.”

The letter was signed by activists and scholars representing Integrity Initiatives International, Be Just, Partnership for Transparency Fund, Spotlight on Corruption, Anthropocene Actions, The One Campaign, Publish What You Say, Centre for Environmental Rights, Re:Common, The Corner House, Forests Campaign, Global Witness, Environmental Investigation Agency, and Policy Alert.

‘WE ARE READY FOR TRIAL’

In a statement issued last week, Sina Odugbemi, the programme manager of HEDA Resource Centre, had said HEDA and Suraju were ready for trial.

“For the records (record), HEDA and Mr. Suraju fervently look forward to this trial in court to defend ourselves against these spurious allegations and expose the evil being done to Nigeria by some vampires,” Odugbemi said.

“We shall put up a robust and courageous defence to the admiration and pride of all patriots and true friends of Nigeria, but to the shock and disgrace of all predators and enemies of Nigeria in and out of office who are sorely bent on bleeding the country to death.”

Odugbemi said all that Suraju did was to “repeat statements made by the FRN’s lawyers on behalf of the President as Head of State. These statements will be presented to the court, along with other evidence that the FRN has submitted to the courts in Milan”.