Prominent actor, lawyer, and political activist, Kenneth Okonkwo, has called for the immediate and unconditional release of Dele Farotimi, a whistleblower and political activist, currently in detention. Okonkwo, in a statement, accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration of blatant disregard for fundamental human rights and alleged the use of state apparatus to intimidate and harass political opponents.
Okonkwo urged the authorities to prioritize an investigation into the claims made by Farotimi in his book, which he believes contain serious allegations against key figures. He demanded that the findings of such investigations be made public, emphasizing that Farotimi’s detention undermines efforts to expose systemic corruption in Nigeria.
“I am at a loss why anybody in Nigeria will still be in doubt that Nigeria has a systemic corruption problem in which those in power collude with those outside power to defraud the Nigerian nation,” Okonkwo stated. He went on to praise whistleblowers like Farotimi, asserting that they deserve commendations and national honors rather than imprisonment.
The activist did not mince words in his criticism of the current administration, stating, “It’s a shame that in Nigeria, people who should be in prison are in the presidency, while people who should be in the presidency are in prison.”
