Nigeria Had No Political Prisoners Under My Watch –Jonathan

The former president,
Dr Goodluck Jonathan, has said that under his watch as Nigeria’s president, no Nigerian was a political prisoner or a prisoner of conscience based on what he or she wrote in criticising him or his administration.
Jonathan said this in a keynote speech last Saturday, at the annual Merit Awards Dinner of the Nigerian Lawyers Association of the United States.
The former President, who urged the Diaspora lawyers to help preserve democratic institutions, also said that, diversity could remain a strength only when all interest groups in the society feel safe and secured, in their day-to-day activities.
At the event, which held in New York, former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, who introduced Jonathan, said “Nobody in Nigeria has made more sacrifices for democracy and unity in Nigeria like former President Jonathan”.
Jonathan was also honoured for his efforts to promote democracy by the City of New York, which issued a proclamation honouring Jonathan as a democratic icon.
During his speech, Jonathan urged Nigerian politicians to build unity and harmony in Nigeria by their language and conduct.
He said that was why he ensured there was both freedom of speech and freedom after the speech, and equally ensured that under his watch, “Not a single Nigerian was sent to prison because of anything he or she wrote or said about me or about the administration that I headed.”