After over 200 days in detention awaiting trial, we are pleased to announce that the High Court has today, 16th of December 2025, discharged and acquitted Comrade Emmanuel Acha of all trumped-up charges of unlawful possession of firearms and fueling of communal clashes levelled against him in a strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP).
In an official press statement signed by Spaces for Change (S4C), all that Comrade Emmanuel Acha did was to challenge, via a lawsuit, the manner in which the Ebonyi State Government handled the Effium-Ezza land dispute. Comrade Acha’s case represents a troubling precedent of how state actors continue to weaponize laws and state institutions to stifle dissent.
Today’s victory comes after months of sustained advocacy by Spaces for Change and members of the Action Group on Free Civic Space (AGFCS) against the State government, drawing public attention to the plight of Comrade Acha. We appreciate the legal team comprising Ikeazor Akaraiwe, SAN and Spaces for Changes’ legal officers, whose collective efforts were instrumental to this judicial victory. We are grateful to the members of the AGFCS for their consistent pursuit of justice and defence of the civic space. We are also thankful for the generous support of the Funds for Global Human Rights (FGHR).
Spaces for Change and partners remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that state laws and institutions are used to expand rather than restrict the exercise of civil and political rights.