It is always fascinating how governments insist that democracy is alive and well right up until someone starts using it too loudly.
This week, rights group SERAP demanded the release of activist Omoyele Sowore after he was remanded in Kuje prison, arguing that the charges against him have less to do with justice and more to do with punishing a persistent critic of those in power.
According to the organisation, criminal defamation and cybercrime laws are increasingly becoming convenient tools for dealing with uncomfortable voices rather than actual threats.
The concern goes beyond one activist because the larger question is becoming difficult to ignore. If journalists, bloggers, activists and government critics constantly find themselves facing arrest, prosecution or detention for speaking out, then citizens may begin to wonder whether free expression is still a right or merely a privilege that survives only when it does not inconvenience powerful people.
