League of foreign activists has cautioned the Attorney general of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, asking him to stop the trial of Olanrewaju Suraju, renowned anti-corruption activist, on charges of circulating allegedly forged email and audio tape.

In a joint letter to Malami on Monday, the foreign activists threatened to report Nigeria to “our governments and international human rights bodies” over the case.

Suraju, who is the chairman of HEDA Resource Centre recently petitioned Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, seeking his intervention in the trial “to save Nigeria from international embarrassment”.

He is being charged with cyber stalking for allegedly circulating the audio of a phone interview said to have been stage-managed to implicate Mohammed Bello Adoke, a former attorney-general of the federation (AGF), in the OPL 245 saga.

He is also accused of circulating a forged email purportedly sent to one Bayo Osolake of JP Morgan, UK, by Adoke from the account of AA Properties, owned by Abubakar Aliyu – who was accused of distributing bribes in the transaction.

Adoke denied granting the interview or sending the email and petitioned the police to investigate.

An Italian court had ruled in March 2021 that there was no corruption in the OPL 245 deal and subsequently discharged and acquitted Shell, Eni and others on trial.

The Italian appeal court also overturned the four-year jail sentence of Emeka Obi, a Nigerian, and Gianluca Di Nardo, an Italian, who had been convicted for their role as middlemen in the deal.

Fabio De Pasquale and Sergio Spadaro, the Italian prosecutors in the OPL 245 trial, are now facing investigation by the Italian ministry of justice over allegations of manipulating evidence to secure conviction by unlawful means.

Meanwhile, in a joint statement, the foreign activists said they will be “closely monitoring the progress of the case”.

The letter was signed by activists and scholars representing Integrity Initiatives International, Be Just, Partnership for Transparency Fund, Spotlight on Corruption, Anthropocene Actions, The One Campaign, Publish What You Say, Centre for Environmental Rights, Re:Common, The Corner House, Forests Campaign, Global Witness, Environmental Investigation Agency, and Policy Alert.

The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to press reports of an indictment, approved by your office, against Olanrewaju Suraju, chair of the anti-corruption and human right group HEDA, for alleged cyberstalking.

“As at the time of writing, we are assured that Mr Suraju has neither been served with the indictment (despite its circulation in the press) nor provided with any evidence supporting the charges.

“We note that the indictment alleges offences under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act.

“We also note that the cyberstalking charges accuse Mr Suraju of having circulated documents that were accepted as evidence by courts in Italy and/or the United Kingdom.

“We are gravely concerned by the intended prosecution of Mr Suraju.

“It is a fundamental right to report on court proceedings and the use of the Cybercrimes Act to criminalise those who exercise that right is alarming.

“We are also shocked that Nigeria should still be using the Act given the recent ruling by the ECOWAS court that the Act is unconstitutional and must be repealed.

“For Nigeria to ignore this ruling will send a regrettable signal that the current government does not respect international treaties to which it is a Party. Indeed, your own office has accepted that the Act needs amending.

“We would therefore urge you to reconsider the indictment of Mr Suraju.

“We will be closely monitoring the progress of the case and will draw our concerns to the attention of our governments and international human rights bodies.”