Human Rights Activist and lawyer, Inibehe Effiong has been released from prison.
Inibehe came out one month after he was sent to prison by the Akwa Ibom Chief Judge, Ekaette Obot, for contempt of court after an altercation during sitting.
He was seen given a heroic welcome march by a team of supporters.
The lawyer, who posted a video on his Facebook, Friday morning, captioned it “History will vindicate the just.”
Newsonspot blog reported that Inibehe was committed to prison July 27.
He served the first two weeks of his 30 days sentence at the Ikot Ekpene Custodial Center of the Nigeria Correctional Service.
He was later transferred to Uyo Custodial Centre to serve the remaining days.
Effiong was reportedly abused by prison officials who scraped his hair and beard.
Reviewing the whole episode, he said deception and lies may tarry for a while but there are two judges that cannot be deceived, the judge of heaven and judge of conscience.
He appreciated his friends, family and colleagues including the media who stood by him during the period, adding that he considered it as an honour to be incarcerated and that the one month period was an appointment with destiny.
He said ”I thank God for making this day possible. History will always vindicate the just, I have just finished my one month appointment with destiny. I came to the custodial centre to follow the path of my ancestors, the Gani Fawhinmi’s of this world and those who have sacrificed their personal comfort for their conviction.
“Those who visited me during my conviction would know that I was totally unbothered, unperturbed, I considered it as an honour to be incarcerated.
”I want to thank my family, the NBA led by Olumide Akpata for standing by me even lawyers of good conscience who have not clearly heard from me, believed in me and fought to defend me, my lead counsel Femi Falana and other senior lawyers and my colleague Barr Augustine Asuquo and my friends in the media for always saying the truth.
“As I said deception and lies may tarry for a while but there are two judges that cannot be deceived, the judge of heaven and judge of conscience”.“This voice, till no end, is now louder,” Effiong said.
“I am back, stronger and more determined to confront the forces of oppression and to continue to speak nothing but the hard truth to the faces of the oppressors of our people. I feel sorry for those who thought they can break my spirit by incarcerating me,” he added in another post.
His incarceration had since been met with wide criticisms as fellow lawyers, and activists among others, condemned what they described as failure of the Judge to give Inibehe a fair hearing or to defend himself.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General of the state, Uko Udom, had said that the judge had the power to decide contempt.
Udom stated this on Tuesday at the Annual General Meeting of Nigerian Bar Association, in Lagos.
Udom said, “I was somebody who was trained in the old school, I am a very conservative lawyer and have no apology for that. We were told that we do not talk back to the judge. If a judge says your conduct or your action or your words are contemptuous to the court what you do as a lawyer is to apologize and then explain to the court that it was never your intention to be contemptuous.”
Inibehe was defending Leo Ekpenyong in a case of libel said to have been instituted against his client by Governor Udom Emmanuel of the state
The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, could not secure his release but threatened to drag the judge to appeal court.
The NBA made its decision known through Olumide Akpata, the National president.
