By Ebuka Ukoh
A clarion call for justice for Justice Crack is not merely a campaign for an individual; it is a call for justice for all, a test of whether Nigeria still upholds the constitutional guarantees of free speech and liberty.
Democracies rarely die in one dramatic moment. They die in instalments… smaller, quieter acts. They die when citizens begin to self-censor for self-preservation. Then, frustration becomes suspicious, and criticism begins to attract the attention of the comrades-in-arms.
That is why the reported arrest, transfer, and continued uncertainty surrounding the whereabouts of Mr Justice Mark Chidiebere, also known as Justice Crack, should alarm all well-meaning people. Not simply because of who he is or isn’t, but because of what his case appears to represent.
If a citizen expresses indignation, disappointment or political frustration, what business does the Nigerian Army or the secret police (Department of State Services) have in that conversation? When did dissent become a security threat?
Here is even the greater danger: The message being passed on, wittingly or not, is chilling – Keep quiet! Do not ask too many questions! Do not speak too loudly! Do not embarrass high office! If you do, face the consequences. Yet, dissent is not a crime.
Under Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999, citizens have the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to receive and impart information, ideas, and opinions. In any functioning democracy, citizen frustration is not treated as an act of insurrection. It is supposed to be feedback. It is part of the democratic contract. In saner climes or advanced democracies, criticism of public institutions often triggers reform, not security escalation.
That is why the reported movement of public policy critic, Justice Crack, from army custody into the orbit of national security agencies has raised legitimate concerns. It reportedly took public outrage for authorities to begin offering explanations. Even then, more questions emerged than answers.
What exactly was his offence? Which law was violated? Perhaps more fundamentally, under what civilian authority does military intelligence become the first responder to the open expression of political frustration by a citizen?
The above are no emotional questions; they are constitutional ones.
The Nigerian state has developed a troubling habit of confusing criticism with sabotage.
We have seen it before. From rule by fiat through decrees to modern cybercrime prosecutions, Nigeria’s relationship with dissent has been defined repeatedly by suspicion rather than dialogue and opportunities for productive citizen engagement.
Citizens who query authority are accused of cybercrime. Journalists who expose uncomfortable truths are threatened with prosecution. Activists who mobilise public opinion are painted as destabilising forces. The language keeps changing. The institutions involved may change, but the pattern remains the same.
And the greater danger is not solely what happens to a single man. It’s what happens to millions watching. That’s because every time a citizen sees another punished for speaking, something breaks.
A student becomes quieter. A journalist becomes more cautious. A civil servant learns to keep his concerns to himself. Soon, silence feels safer than honesty. A whistleblower thinks twice. A voter withdraws. Eventually, a nation that once debated loudly begins to whisper…in churches, mosques, salons, coffee shops, and snooker centres. That is how democratic cultures erode.
The state must understand something fundamental. Criticism is not rebellion. Anger is not terrorism. Frustration is not treason. However, the current Nigerian state response is all of the above.
A government that cannot tolerate criticism eventually starts to dread the very citizens it claims to represent.
And once a state fears its people, it often starts trying to silence them.
Following public concern, the Nigerian Army has since issued an official explanation, stating that its attention was drawn to a social media post by Justice Mark Chidiebere. In the post, he reportedly highlighted complaints from some soldiers regarding feeding conditions and general welfare. The statement, signed by Colonel Appolonia Anele, Acting Director of Army Public Relations, claimed the matter arose from concerns over online commentary about troop welfare. If that is indeed the basis of state action, then the matter becomes even more troubling.
In a more recent public communication, the Nigerian Army has sought to justify its actions by alleging that Justice Crack did more than criticise military welfare. According to the Army, his conduct amounted to inciting soldiers toward mutiny, spreading misinformation, and violating internal social media restrictions relating to operational welfare and troop morale. Those are serious allegations, and as the matter now sits before the courts, it would be improper to prejudge the legal process. But even so, one principle remains worth stating. Institutions, especially those entrusted with public power, must not become intolerant to criticism or uncomfortable feedback. Democratic institutions grow stronger when they are questioned, not weaker. I will leave the legal merits to the courts, but the larger civic concern remains.
When did amplifying the welfare concerns of serving personnel become grounds for military intervention against a civilian?
If soldiers are hungry, the problem is not the citizen who reports it. If soldiers are frustrated, the problem is not the citizen who comments on the development. If soldiers are neglected, the problem is not the bearer of the bad news, but is within the military establishment itself.
This is precisely why democracies depend on citizens, journalists, and independent voices. Institutions do not always expose their own failures. Sometimes it takes uncomfortable speech to force accountability.
If a civilian draws attention to the welfare of soldiers, the mature institutional response is not intimidation. It is an investigation. It is correct. It is reform.
Instead, what Nigerians often witness is a reflexive attempt to identify, isolate, and neutralise whoever made the institution uncomfortable. That instinct is dangerous because when institutions become more concerned with embarrassment than with the truth, they stop serving the public and start protecting power.
History teaches us that those states do not always lose legitimacy through corruption alone. Sometimes they lose legitimacy through insecurity. Sometimes through incompetence. And sometimes through overreaction.
A state that cannot absorb criticism eventually begins to criminalise discomfort. And when discomfort is thus criminalised, citizenship itself begins to shrink.
This is not only about Justice Crack. It is about what kind of country Nigeria is becoming. A country where criticism triggers surveillance. A country where frustration invites suspicion. A country where public accountability is treated as a threat. A country where security institutions increasingly appear more comfortable confronting citizens than confronting structural failures.
That should trouble everyone, because democracies are not sustained by silence. They are sustained by trust. Trust that institutions will act within the law. Trust that power will tolerate scrutiny. Trust that citizens can speak without disappearing into systems they do not understand.
Justice for Justice Crack is therefore not merely a campaign for an individual. It is a test of whether Nigerians still retain the constitutional right to speak freely without fear. Whether criticism still has a place in public life. Whether institutions still remember whom they were created to serve, because a country whose citizens fear speaking freely is no longer struggling with insecurity alone.
What is confronting something far more dangerous? A state that teaches its citizens to fear speaking eventually creates a population that stops believing the state is theirs.
Mr Ukoh, who is based in New York, United States, coauthored Built By The Ancestors and is an alumnus of the American University of Nigeria in Yola. He is currently pursuing a PhD at Columbia University in New York
