The Network Against Corruption and Trafficking (NACAT) has vowed to petition the National Judicial Council (NJC), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and foreign embassies over the continued detention of journalist and activist, Fejiro Oliver.
In a statement on Monday, NACAT’s Operations Manager, Stanley Ugagbe, accused the Delta State Government of engaging in forum shopping aimed at frustrating the enforcement of Oliver’s bail granted by the Federal High Court, Asaba, on October 16.
Oliver, who also serves as NACAT’s chairman, was arrested in Abuja on September 18, 2025, and flown to Delta State.
According to the organisation, while Oliver’s legal team was perfecting his bail conditions, the Delta State Government allegedly obtained a reproduction warrant to arraign him before Magistrate Court 3, Asaba, on Monday, a move NACAT described as an attempt to file new or duplicate charges.
The group condemned the development, calling it a coordinated effort to undermine the authority of the Federal High Court and to use the state judiciary as a tool for political persecution.
Ugagbe alleged that the renewed legal actions were politically motivated and linked to NACAT’s earlier petition against former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He warned that attempts to re-arraign Oliver before a lower court amounted to “judicial ambush” and a breach of due process.
“What is being planned against Fejiro Oliver is nothing short of a holding charge, a notorious and unconstitutional tactic where an accused person is brought before a Magistrate Court on an offence that the Magistrate lacks jurisdiction to entertain,” the statement read.
“The end result of such a scheme is that the accused is remanded indefinitely while the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) or the Attorney-General purportedly takes over the case file.
“This is nothing but judicial ambush and illegality that could provoke unrest if the patience of the youths, whom Fejiro Oliver represents, is pushed to the wall.”
NACAT maintained that if the Delta State Government had a genuine case, the proper course of action would be to amend the existing charges before the Federal High Court rather than file parallel cases in multiple courts.
“Filing before two different courts over the same subject matter is a gross abuse of judicial process and a violation of the rule of law,” the group stated.
It urged the Chief Justice of Nigeria to direct the Chief Judge of Delta State to ensure that no magistrates court is used to subvert the decisions of a superior court.
NACAT also called on the NJC to review all charges and warrants relating to Oliver’s detention and to sanction any judicial officer found complicit in the alleged abuse of process.
The organisation added that it would submit petitions to the NBA and foreign embassies, seeking visa bans and international blacklisting of any judicial officials involved in the case.
