By Lanre Oloyede
Human rights activist and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Barr. Chukwudi Ezeobika, has condemned the attack on Miss. Jennifer Edema, a corps member by members of the Anambra State vigilante group popularly known as “Operation Udo Ga Chi.
The former Senatorial Candidate for Anambra South Senatorial District in a statement signed Wednessday described the recent assault on innocent NYSC members in Anambra State, especially that on Miss. Jennifer Edema Elohor and her colleagues as barbaric and reprehensible.
Barr. Ezeobika noted that the ugly incidence brought to light unacceptable laxity on the part of the Nigeria Police Force in managing the activities and conduct of vigilante groups not only in Anambra State but across the States of the Federation.
The former National Legal Adviser, Inter Party Advisory Council of Nigeria (IPAC) stated that the frequent harassment, intimidation, assault and illegal detentions of Nigerian citizens across the States of the Federation by local vigilante groups, occasioned by their deplorable levels of training, education and professionalism, call to question the legality of such groups under our laws and the ability of the Nigerian Police to regulate them and protect the rights of citizens which are provided for, guaranteed and preserved under our laws whilst living in any part of the country.
“This perhaps remains the reason why the Constitution, under section 214, prohibits the establishment of any other force for the Federation or any part thereof and clearly defines under Section 215, the appointment and roles of officers of the Force.
“The current use of vigilante groups by the Governor of Anambra State and many others in the enforcement of tax laws, debt collections, modes of dressing especially by women, paint a very dark picture of a person who has chaired an institution of government at the federal level.
“The continued existence of vigilante groups across the Federation, which remain a clear call to anarchy, clearly depicts Nigeria as a failed State as in Libya where paramilitary and local vigilante groups are left to enforce the law and further affirms the ineptitude, failure, and incapacity of the Inspector General of Police in the discharge of his duties under the law.
“The inglorious dereliction of duty by the Nigerian Police unwittingly relinquishing their responsibilities to private individuals, security guards, or vigilante groups which recently resulted in the assault on female passenger Comfort Emmanson on board Ibom Air in Lagos and the hostage incident at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja by a musician, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, better known as K1 De Ultimate which put several lives at risk, is clear indictment on the Nigerian Police.
“Rights abuse in Nigeria has become an ugly phenomenon which negatively affects the already battered and deplorable image of the Nation both locally and in the very eyes of the international community. The inefficiency of the Nigeria Police Force has resulted in several avoidable deaths resulting from “jungle justices” across the federation including frequent kidnappings in homes and on the roads prompting citizens to ask if the Force is under siege.
“The judiciary must, as a matter of urgency, distance itself from the reckless and irresponsible conduct and activities of law enforcement agencies, which violate the fundamental rights of citizens as enshrined under sections 33, 34, 35, 36, 40 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) particularly section 34 which guarantees respect for the dignity of a person and prohibits any form of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment which has become the order of the day in Nigeria. The judiciary, by lending support to these violations, especially in reference to illegal detentions and remands of citizens whilst awaiting trial, unwittingly draws doubt on its integrity, neutrality, and independence.
“With the current unprecedented level of youth unemployment in Nigeria, it has become expedient and incumbent on the Inspector General of Police to ensure that adequate personnel are recruited into the Force to effectively carry out their duties of ensuring the safety and security of lives and property of citizens and that thousands of police personnel attached to private individuals, companies and organisations are aggressively reduced and or withdrawn to make policing adequate and visible not only at the airports but wherever their presence may be required.
“The daily extortion of citizens by law enforcement agents on numerous checkpoints illegally mounted on our highways under the watch of the current Inspector General of Police, has become a cancer viciously ravaging both the image and reputation of the Force.
