Nigeria: Environmentalist Odey Oyama arrested
Odey Oyama is one of Nigeria’s most outspoken environmental activists. (© Mathias Rittgerott)
Jan 20, 2025
Our partner Odey Oyama has been arrested in Nigeria. For years, he has faced threats for his efforts to combat illegal logging and expose the powerful individuals behind it. In the most recent incident, Odey was released on bail after more than a week behind bars. Local activists and Rainforest Rescue are calling for an immediate end to his harassment by the authorities.
According to local environmentalists, police officers detained Odey and six others on January 14. This action is evidently linked to his long-standing fight for environmental protection and the rights of Indigenous communities, particularly regarding illegal activities by Chinese companies in Cross River State.
Odey was denied access to a lawyer for six days following his arrest. He was released on bail on January 22, and a hearing has been scheduled for February 7.
The police is charging him with allegedly promoting native war in Effi community, despite not being able to produce any evidence for that claim.
Odey serves as the chairman of the Rainforest Resource and Development Centre (RRDC) and has been a partner of Rainforest Rescue since 2016.
Environmentalists view the arrests as a troubling violation of fundamental human rights. “We are also concerned that this latest arrest is symbolic of the growing intolerance of the government towards the legitimate activities of civil society organizations,” they said in a statement. Activists and journalists are being detained on “the flimsiest excuses.”
Rainforest Rescue, alongside numerous national and international organizations, is calling for an immediate end to his harassment by the authorities.
Just weeks ago, one of Odey’s colleagues was beaten so severely by police that he required surgery in a hospital.
Given the dangers activists face in Cross River State, RRDC, with support from Rainforest Rescue, organized a security training course at the end of last year.
Cross River State in Nigeria is home to some of the country’s last remaining rainforests. Protected areas along the border with Cameroon are inhabited by extremely rare gorillas. Illegal logging poses the greatest threat to this unique ecosystem.
Here is the full statement by Nigerian civil society organizations dated January 14:
The Arrest and Detention of Environmental Activist Odey Oyama by the Nigerian Police Signifies a Rising Trend of Abuse and Repression
On Tuesday, January 14, 2025, environmental activist and director of the Rainforest Resource and Development Centre (RRDC), Mr. Odey Oyama and six others were arrested by Police officers from the Ikom division of the Cross River State Police Command. He was taken from his Okuni home and driven to Calabar where he was kept incommunicado, without legal representation and without formal charges for at least 24 hours.
Odey Oyama is a resolute campaigner for the protection of the rainforest and biodiversity in Cross River state, a cause that has brought him in constant confrontation with illegal loggers who plunder the rich forest ecosystem of Cross River state. In recent times, Odey Oyama has been engaged in a fierce campaign against Chinese business concerns working with indigenous collaborators who are logging the Effi Rainforest, a trend that has resulted in massive deforestation, dissipation of wildlife and loss of biodiversity.
Up till now, Odey has not been formerly charged with any wrongdoing.
The action of the Nigeria Police has once again demonstrated flagrant disregard for due process and their role in stifling dissenting voices, especially when vested business interests are at stake. In this instance, Odey Oyama a conscientious objector to the destruction of the environment, rather than enjoy the protection of the government, is being systematically persecuted.
As civil society organizations and activists in Nigeria, we are familiar with the selfless campaigns of Odey Oyama that have earned him national and international recognition and have helped to preserve the ecological heritage of Cross River State. We are therefore alarmed that rather than support the efforts of Oyama and other campaigners like him to check the illegal destruction of the Cross River forests, the Police are complicit in weakening his resolve and repressing him. It is even more alarming that he was arrested and detained without formal charges against all extant Nigeria and international laws.
We are also concerned that this latest arrest is symbolic of the growing intolerance of the government towards the legitimate activities of civil society organizations. In Cross River State in particular, we have witnessed a pattern of arrest and detention of journalists and activists with the flimsiest excuses, but covertly to stifle democratic dissent. We are worried that the civic space is shrinking at an accelerated rate in the state, and the Police is highly complicit in this deteriorating trend.
We call on the Nigeria Police to immediately release Odey Oyama and his 6 associates and cease all further hostile acts against their persons and legitimate campaigns.
We shall go to all legitimate lengths to enforce the right of Odey Oyama and his associates to advocate peacefully without any let or hindrance.