The High Court on Monday, December 16, 2025, discharged and acquitted Comrade Emmanuel Acha of all charges bordering on alleged unlawful possession of firearms and fueling of communal clashes, bringing to an end his more than 200 days in detention awaiting trial.
Acha, a rights activist, had been arrested and prosecuted following his legal challenge to the handling of the Effium–Ezza land dispute by the Ebonyi State Government. Civil society groups described the charges against him as trumped-up and part of a Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) aimed at silencing dissent.
Reacting to the judgment, advocacy group Spaces for Change (S4C) said the acquittal underscored concerns about the continued use of laws and state institutions to intimidate critics and suppress civic engagement.
“All that Comrade Emmanuel Acha did was to challenge, through a lawsuit, the manner in which the Ebonyi State Government handled the Effium–Ezza land dispute,” the group said, adding that his prosecution represented “a troubling precedent of how state actors weaponise laws to stifle dissent.”
The group noted that the acquittal followed months of sustained advocacy by Spaces for Change and members of the Action Group on Free Civic Space (AGFCS), who repeatedly drew public attention to Acha’s detention and prosecution.
Spaces for Change also commended the legal team led by Ikeazor Akaraiwe, SAN, alongside its in-house legal officers, describing their efforts as instrumental to securing the judicial victory. The organisation further acknowledged the support of AGFCS members and the Funds for Global Human Rights (FGHR) in the pursuit of justice.
S4C reiterated its commitment to defending civic space and ensuring that laws and state institutions are used to expand, rather than restrict, the exercise of civil and political rights.
