Inibehe Effiong, a human rights lawyer, has just been released from the Uyo Correctional Centre.
Inibehe was released from prison one month after being sentenced to prison for contempt of court by Akwa Ibom Chief Judge, Ekaette Obot.
A group of supporters gave him a hero’s welcome march.
The lawyer captioned a video he posted on Facebook Friday morning, “History will vindicate the just.”
Inibehe was committed to prison July 27.
He served the first two weeks of his 30 days sentence at the Ikot Ekpene Custodial Center of the Nigeria Correctional Service.
He was later transferred to Uyo Custodial Centre to serve the remaining days.
Effiong was reportedly abused by prison officials who scraped his hair and beard.
As seen on Friday, the lawyer’s beard had been shaved.
“I am back, stronger and more determined to confront the forces of oppression and to continue to speak nothing but the hard truth to the faces of the oppressors of our people. I feel sorry for those who thought they can break my spirit by incarcerating me,” he added in another post.
His incarceration had since been met with wide criticisms as fellow lawyers, and activists among others, condemned what they described as failure of the Judge to give Inibehe a fair hearing or to defend himself.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General of the state, Uko Udom, had said that the judge had the power to decide contempt.
Udom stated this on Tuesday at the Annual General Meeting of Nigerian Bar Association, in Lagos.
Udom said, “I was somebody who was trained in the old school, I am a very conservative lawyer and have no apology for that. We were told that we do not talk back to the judge. If a judge says your conduct or your action or your words are contemptuous to the court what you do as a lawyer is to apologise and then explain to the court that it was never your intention to be contemptuous.”
Inibehe was defending Leo Ekpenyong in a case of libel said to have been instituted against his client by Governor Udom Emmanuel of the state.