Lawyer Flays Human Rights Abuses In Nigeria

L-R: Former Inspector-General of Police, Mr Sunday Ehindero, Governor Henry Dickson of Bayelsa, representative of the President, Retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau and I-G Solomon Arase during the launching of a book,’International Human Rights Standards and Trends in Community and Intelligence Driven Policing in Abuja, recently.

A Port Harcourt
based lawyer and human rights advocate, Chijoke Agi, has condemned law enforcement agents nationwide for festering human rights abuses meted against suspects in custodies.
Agi Esq, who made the condemnation while speaking with journalists in Port Harcourt, on Monday, noted that the spate of human rights abuses was rising by the day.
According to him, “Suspects are detained in police custodies for more than six months. This is a violation of the constitutional rights of accused persons. The constitution recommends that accused persons should be charged to court within 24 hours where courts are far away.”
Barr. Agi expressed regrets that the rule of law was being subverted by agencies that were supposed to protect it.
He said the continual violation of the rule of law was making Nigeria a pariah nation and pointed out that the rule of self help was not good enough to replace the former.
Barr. Agi noted that in spite of the fact that torture had been outlawed, law enforcement agencies were still using it to extract information from suspects.
He said most of police custodies were crammed with suspects as they were unwilling to charge them to court.
Barr. Agi also criticized the law enforcement agencies for disobeying court orders under the present dispensation.
He called on Nigerians to continue to sustain the rule of law and told the law enforcement agents to turn a new leaf.

Chidi Enyie