After months of torture in Nigeria, labour activists Osmond Ugwu and Raphael Elobuike will go to trial Friday on murder charges that human rights groups call "an apparent bid by the police and prosecution to silence union activists." And the two activists could face the death penalty if they lose.
But Damian Ugwu (no relation to Osmond) knows that the only "crime" the two men have committed is empowering workers in Nigeria to demand fair compensation and humane treatment.
Damian is convinced that international outcry can save Osmond and Raphael -- not only from an unfair sentencing but from the possibility of assassination while imprisoned, too, which their friends fear. He started a petition on Change.org calling on government officials to drop all charges against Osmond and Raphael and release them immediately.