100 Days Of Your Administration Celebrated In Detention By Many Citizens, Obey Court Orders, Falana, SAN, Tells Buhari

National Chairman of the Peoples Alternative Forum, Femi Falana, SAN, has condemned the constant disobedience of Court order by the Buhari led administration, and the detention of some suspects unlawfully in the Nigerian prison.

Falana in a press statement titled, ”100 Days of Buhari Administration Celebrated In Detention By Many Citizens,” the Human Rights Activist listed the name of some persons who have been detained without bail, and others not yet to be charged to Court.

He, therefore, calls on the government to comply with all court orders and direct the police and other security agencies to grant bail to suspect based on the federal government’s commitment.

100 DAYS OF BUHARI ADMINISTRATION CELEBRATED IN DETENTION BY MANY CITIZENS

In spite of the official declaration of the Buhari administration to respect the human rights of Nigerian people the country has continued to witness the indiscriminate arrest and illegal detention of poor citizens by the police and other security agencies. While conducting raids in Abuja and other cities in the country thousands of women and unemployed young people are arrested by the police for wandering even though the vagrancy law was abolished in Nigeria in 1989.

Last week, the Buhari administration marked the first 100 days in office while scores of citizens were languishing in police and military detention facilities across the country. Some of the detainees include the following:

A. Omoyele Sowore, a politician, accused of treason, treasonable felony and terrorism for planning a protest against insecurity, poverty, and unemployment in the country. Even though the State Security Service and the Nigeria Police Force claimed that Mr. Sowore had concluded plans to remove President Buhari from office he has not been charged with any offence. However, the State Security Service has secured an ex-parte order from the Federal High Court to detain him for 45 days.

B. Agba Jalingo, a journalist, was arrested in Calabar, Cross River State last month. The Nigeria Police Force has filed a terrorism charge against him at the Federal High Court for criticising Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State in a newspaper article. Even though Mr Jalingo has not been arraigned in court the Nigeria Police Force has secured an order from the Federal High Court to detain him for 14 days.

C. The Nigerian Navy has continued to detain over 150 citizens for several months without trial for undisclosed criminal offences. While some of the detainees have recently been released not less than 67 others are still held incommunicado in Lagos. Specifically, 10 of the detainees are held inside a vessel in Lagos while 57 others are detained in the NNS Beecroft Cell, Apapa, Lagos. The names of the 67 detainees are:

1. Michael Ovie
2. Simon Onyisike Mike
3. Umoren Daniel
4. James Archibong
5. Graham Brown
6. Ifeanyi Osadinizu
7. Matthew Epiagolo
8. Taiwo Ayodele
9. Sunday Ojo
10. Austin Omonisa
11. Timothy Ajayi
12. Adeleke Adewale
13. Onoja Reuben
14. Pius Paul
15. Peter Pulle
16. Ogunmoyero Oluwaseun
17. Innocent Sunday
18. Lejoro Friday
19. Hamza Yakubu
20. Segun Yusuf
21. Adebayo Mayoma
22. Godswill Umoh
23. Edu Fidelis
24. Richard David
25. Daniel Harrison
26. Asaiki Okeoghene
27. Omogoye Bolaji
28. Victor Uchendu
29. Oloyede Ademola
30. Emomotimi F. Watchman
31. Ganabel Sixtus
32. Olajide Enigbewo
33. Kehinde Labinjo
34. Godswill Akpoviri Ebbah

D. We have also confirmed that Navy Captain Dada Labinjo is still being detained at an underground cell in the Directorate of Defence Intelligence, Abuja in defiance of the judgment of the Federal High Court which has declared his detention illegal and unconstitutional while the Swiss government has sued the Federal Government in Zurick over the detention of 4 Ukraine nationals for about two years without trial.

At the annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association which held in Lagos last month, President Buhari restated the commitment of his administration to operate under the Rule of Law. Based on such commitment the federal government should comply with all court orders and direct the police and other security agencies to grant bail to criminal suspects or arraign them in courts if there is reasonable suspicion that they have committed any criminal offence. As the Buhari administration moves to the “next level” the National Human Rights Commission which was dissolved in 2015 should be reconstituted without any further delay.