How humane is Ayade's 2019 Carnival of humanity: Eriacy Confidence

By Eriacy Confidence 

The Cambridge dictionary defines humanity as the quality of being humane; benevolent. The word also mean  compassion, brotherly love, fellow feeling, humaneness, kindness, kind-heartedness, consideration, understanding, sympathy, tolerance, goodness, good-heartedness, gentleness, leniency, mercy, mercifulness, pity, tenderness, benevolence, charity, generosity, magnanimity.

I was super excited to find out that the Governor of the state Sir Ben Ayade has favored this word to adopt it as his theme for the 2019 Annual Carnival Calabar, the biggest street party in the continent of Africa, with the hope that  Comr Agba Jalingo who has been detained for long now and who is  facing charges of terrorism, treasonable felony and attempt to topple the Cross River State government at the Federal High Court in Calabar, being presided over by Justice Simon Amobeda and his counterpart Joseph Odork Esq. will be released in the spirit of humanity. But my 

my expectations were disappointed.

Not until I heard I read a press statement from the Honourable Commissioner for Information and orientation Comr Asu Okang debunking the publication credited to the noble Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka in which he was

reported to have declared that the on-going treason trial of Publisher of Cross River Watch - Mr. Agba Jalingo is a "dishonest device to silence people when a government has no more answers to give"; adding that "the State has committed treason.

Mr Okang had argued that 

 Cross River as  one of the Federating States in the entity called Nigeria is not a sovereign entity on her own and do not have any constitutional powers to commit anyone to trial for treasonable felony. He said Such powers are only vested on the Federal Government through the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. That is to mean that Citizen Agba Jalingo is being tried by the Nigeria Police Force at a Federal High Court only based in Calabar, both of which are Federal Government  Agencies and that Cross River State Government has no locus standi to interfer or intervene in the matter.   

In as much as I  would  want to go with Mr Commissioner that such powers reside with the Federal Government in the case of Agba Jalingo, one would be tempted to ask, what about the case of  Joseph Odork. Is it also in  the hands of the Federal Government? 

I am compelled to even ask yet another question. Is the treason charges against the state or the Federal Government? Pardon my little knowledge in law  but I think if it is against the state, then the had filed the case against him using a Federal agency like the police and can offer help to save our brothers. And even if it's against the Federal Government, the state Governor still owes her citizens the service of  mounting pressure on any other arm of Government or body to grant his for people.

But even if we would have to erase the possibility of the state Government intervening on Agba's case, what about Joseph Odork? Is his crime also areasonable and against the Federal Government?

I believe our digital Governor can do all within his power to save our brothers from lavishing in detention.

And if Agba Jalingo is in the hands of the Federal Government, as a state Governor and one who believes in the philosophy of humanity, I think it's only proper to mount pressure on the FG to release your kinsman? The continuous detention of our brothers has given people doubt over the Governor's well intentioned theme for the carnival as there seems to be a contradiction in his philosophy of  humanity.

The journalist was arrested in Lagos by operatives attached to the Intelligence Response Team of the Nigerian Police on August 22, 2019 and he was first arraigned on September 25, 2019 where he pleaded not guilty to the four-count charge levelled against him