{"id":6798,"date":"2026-01-20T16:05:58","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T15:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pillartoday.ng\/?p=6798"},"modified":"2026-01-20T16:05:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T15:05:58","slug":"stop-media-lynching-character-assassination-pre-judgment-of-ozekhome-iyc-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"pillartoday.com.ng\/?p=6798","title":{"rendered":"Stop Media Lynching, Character Assassination, Pre-Judgment of Ozekhome, IYC Warns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chief Mike Agbedor Ozekhome, SAN.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Anietie Akpan<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has warned against what it called media lynching, character assassination and pre-judgment, in the ongoing legal proceedings involving a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Mike Agbedor Ozekhome.<\/p>\n

The group said, the \u201ctrial by media\u201d of Ozekhome is unacceptable and should stop.<\/p>\n

In a statement\u00a0 issued on Tuesday and signed by its National Spokesperson, Bedford Berefa Benjamin,the IYC said it was disturbed by \u201csensational narratives\u201d and selective reportage surrounding the case, warning that such coverage could amount to reputational assassination.<\/p>\n

The group stressed that Ozekhome, a professor of law and human rights advocate, remains presumed innocent under Nigerian and international law until proven otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresumption of innocence is not optional. Attempts to pronounce guilt through media headlines, leaked proofs of evidence and selective interpretation of court documents are unacceptable and dangerous to the rule of law,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n

The IYC further noted that the filing of charges does not amount to a conviction, adding that the matter remains at the allegation stage and is subject to judicial determination.<\/p>\n

It also expressed concern over what it termed the selective publicisation of prosecution materials while allegedly downplaying the defendant\u2019s explanations and legal defences.<\/p>\n

According to the council, evidence cited in media reports, including correspondence from government agencies, remain subject to cross-examination and judicial scrutiny and should not be presented as established facts.<\/p>\n

Describing Ozekhome as a \u201cglobal legal icon\u201d with decades of service to democracy, human rights and constitutionalism, the IYC said, reducing such a figure to scandal headlines without due process, was unfair and injurious to the legal profession.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide will not stand by while one of Nigeria\u2019s prominent legal minds from the Niger Delta is subjected to media lynching, character assassination and pre-judgment,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n

The group called on Nigerians and the international community to allow the courts to determine the matter without pressure or prejudice.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur position is clear: no to media trial; yes to due process; yes to presumption of innocence; and yes to the protection of legitimate reputations,\u201d the IYC said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chief Mike Agbedor Ozekhome, SAN. By Anietie Akpan The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has warned against what it called media lynching, character assassination and pre-judgment, in the ongoing legal proceedings involving a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Mike Agbedor Ozekhome. The group said, the \u201ctrial by media\u201d of Ozekhome is unacceptable and should […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6799,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6798\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"pillartoday.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}