Lai Mohammed: SPN demands Rotimi Jolayemi’s release

The Socialist Party of Nigeria(SPN) has called for the release of Rotimi Jolayemi, a Kwara-based poet and journalist, has continued to suffer unjust harassment including arrest and detention by the Police over his critical comments of Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture and Sadiya Umar Farouk, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. Jolayemi’s wife, Dorcas and two of his brothers have also gone through the ordeal of arrest and detention for over a week because he was allegedly not reachable and they were made to suffer for it.

In a press statement made available to NEWSVERGE, Abiodun Bamigboye, the party’s Acting Chairperson and Chinedu Bosah, the National Secretary stated that he ‘’was arrested on May 6, 2020 and transferred to Abuja on May 7, 2020. Before Dorcas and the two other brothers were arrested, their phones and that of Rotimi Jolayemi were illegally bugged and their conversations recorded in flagrant breach of the right to privacy.’’

According to the party, Jolayemi was charged to Court by the Police on May 22, 2020 for posting an audio message “for the purpose of causing annoyance, insult, hatred and ill will to the current Hon. Minister of Information and Culture, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24(1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015″ but he’s still being detained.

‘’In effect, Jolayemi has remained in detention for more than 24 days and still counting. This is a repeat of the brutal spectacle of the persecution of Omoyele Sowore, Agba Jalingo, Jones Abiri and others, through the process of arrest, detention and phantom trial. The actions of the Nigerian Police and other Security Force show that the armed forces are organized for private interest of the highest bidder and for the most powerful and privileged bourgeois ruling elite in society whereas the funding of the armed forces is from the general public. The Police and the members of the bourgeois ruling should stop criminalising dissent and critical opinions, it is undemocratic to so do’’, the party added.

The party explained further that ‘’Lai Mohammed was the official spokesperson of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) before it came to power 2015 and that time he had no other preoccupation than criticizing some of the anomalies of the then Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) including their undemocratic actions and abusing those responsible. But now in power, he and his fellow top APC government officials have become power drunk and are currently committing the same atrocities and in some cases, worse atrocities.’’

The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) therefore decried what it described as ‘’unwelcome tendency’’, and condemned the arrest and detention of Rotimi Jolayemi and his close family members. ‘’We demand his immediate and unconditional release while we call on the government and the Police to henceforth desist from harassing and threatening his relations’’. ”We call on labour (NLC, TUC and ULC) and pro-masses organisations to condemn this anti-democratic action of Buhari government, demand the immediate release of Jolayemi and an end to all attacks on democratic rights.”