Governor of Cross Rivers State, Ben Ayade has washed his hands off the prosecution of Agba Jalingo, a journalist standing trial in a Calabar court on charges of treason and terrorism.
Professor Ben Ayade said the case is between Agba Jalingo and the federal government Nigeria.
He said Agba Jalingo was arrested for his link to Omoyele Sowore’s revolution now movement.
The Governor said he would prefer that the detained journalist is released but should be strongly warned against using the power of the pen and journalism to blackmail, chastise lampoon, destroy others just for personal economic benefit.
Agba Jalingo was arrested on August 22 and was charged to court on August 30 with disturbance of public peace and treason for his writing and social media posts about Cross River Governor Benedict Ayade.
If found guilty, Jalingo could face up to three years in prison for the disturbance charge and up to life in prison for treason, according to the Nigerian criminal code.
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