The Network Against Corruption and Trafficking (NACAT) has raised alarm over the continued detention and legal harassment of journalist and activist Fejiro Oliver, despite being granted bail by the Federal High Court sitting in Asaba, Delta State.
NACAT, in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja by its Operations Manager, Stanley Ugagbe, recalled that the court had on October 16, 2025, granted bail to Oliver.
Ugagbe accused the Delta State Government of engaging in forum shopping and other tactics aimed at frustrating the enforcement of the bail order. He alleged that while Oliver’s legal team was perfecting his bail conditions, the government obtained a reproduction warrant to arraign him before Magistrate Court 3, Asaba, in an attempt to file new or duplicate charges.
According to NACAT, if the state had a legitimate case, it should have amended the existing charges before the Federal High Court rather than initiating parallel proceedings 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,” Ugagbe stated.
The group described the development as a coordinated attempt to undermine the authority of the Federal High Court and weaponize the state judiciary for political persecution.
> “We view this as a coordinated effort to undermine the authority of the Federal High Court and to use the state judiciary as a tool for political persecution, which will not stand,” NACAT added.
The organisation warned that it would not remain passive while politicians manipulate the judiciary to achieve “sinister ends.”
“We are alerting the Nigerian judiciary to how these actors are attempting to exploit judicial loopholes and delay tactics to achieve sinister ends,” it said.
NACAT further threatened to petition the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and foreign embassies to impose visa sanctions against any judicial officer found complicit in what it described as an abuse of court process.
“The initiation of multiple proceedings over the same matter constitutes a clear abuse of court process and a violation of judicial integrity.
It amounts to forum shopping and stands against the established principles of superior courts,” the statement read.
The group stressed that once Oliver’s bail conditions are perfected, no lower court has the authority to override or delay the subsisting bail order.
NACAT also called on the Olukayode Ariwoola, Chief Justice of Nigeria, to direct the Chief Judge of Delta State to ensure that no magistrate court under his jurisdiction is used to subvert the decisions of a superior court.
“The NJC should review all charges and warrants relating to Oliver to detect and sanction any abuse of process. The NBA should defend the ethics and independence of the judiciary and take disciplinary action against any judicial officer who allows himself or herself to be used for political manipulation,” NACAT stated.
The group concluded by reaffirming its commitment to defending judicial integrity and the rule of law, warning that it would petition relevant bodies and foreign missions for sanctions against any individuals complicit in the alleged abuse.
