Former Akwa Ibom North-East senator, Effiong Dickson Bob, has broken his silence on his petition and subsequent arrest of Ewa Okpo, a legal practitioner popularly known as ‘Street Lawyer’ in Akwa Ibom State.
Bob claimed at a press conference on Wednesday that he was within his legal right to report what he considered an offence.
Recall that Street Lawyer had, in a video circulating online, accused Senator Bob of engaging in stomach infrastructure politics.
He described Bob as the godfather of “political craftiness”.
Bob, miffed by Street Lawyer’s outburst in the video, said he had to report to police for proper investigations.
According to him, “I have the right to report to the police. When I report, I didn’t tell the police to go and arrest somebody. What the police do is left to them. My duty is to report by way of petition. I will not engage in a street fight because that is against the law.”
Speaking on what led to the criticism by Street Lawyer, he said it was due to his comments defending the Governor Umo Eno. According to him, his comments were based on principle and reflected his responsibility as a political leader from the governor’s senatorial district.
He noted that public discourse should focus on governance, verifiable facts and policy issues instead of targeting the private lives of public officials, their families or engaging in what he described as attempts to embarrass them.
“My position was, and still is, nobody should attack the governor in his personal capacity. If government is not performing the way you like, you can criticize, but the criticism should be constructive and responsive to issues,” he said.
Bob stated that although he never mentioned Okpo Ewa by name in his public remarks, the lawyer singled him out for attacks on Facebook and other social media platforms.
He stated that the online publications sought to damage his reputation, insisting that he had become the target of personal abuse for expressing his views.
The Akwa Ibom North-East political leader challenged critics to focus on the substance of public debate rather than introducing what he described as unfounded allegations about his private affairs and businesses.
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