HURIWA petitions National Assembly Committees over police brutality of FCT Minister’s driver
Posted by News Express | 29 August 2022 | 413 times
•Brutalised Driver Idoko
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) say it has it has petitioned the Committees on Public petitions of the two Chambers of the National Assembly to institute a transparent and unbiased investigation of remote and immediate circumstances surrounding the alleged physical torture of the driver of the Minister of State for FCT, Mr. Idoko by an unruly mob allegedly watched and participated by armed policemen at the National Secretariat of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Abuja recently.
HURIWA said it decided to take the bull by the horn by approaching the Committees of the two Chambers to ask them to subject to scrutiny, the alleged clear refusal of the Police authorities to comply with the various human rights related provisions embedded in the extant 2020 Nigerian Police Act.
It added that it decided to approach the National Assembly because of the clear allegations that the Police operatives at the APC'S national headquarters in Abuja may have instigated the mob to attempt to lynch Mr Idoko.
Though HURIWA did not disclose contents of its petition to the National Assembly, it said it would be seeking the actions of the federal lawmakers through her committees on Police Affairs to compel the men and officers of the Nigerian Police to comply totally with provisions of the new police Act, especially the provision compared to what legal authorities called “Miranda Warning” just as the new Act adopts the popular practice of informing the suspect prior to interrogation or arrest of his right to remain silent or avoid answering any question, until after consultation with a counsel or any other person of his choice.
“HURIWA is now approaching the National Assembly today through the Committees on public petitions, the offices of the Senate President and the Honourable Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives to seek redress for this flagrant abuses of the constitutionally protected human rights of Mr. Idoko by some mobs, Police and watched by the many police operatives at the National Secretariat of the ruling All Progressives Congress, the group said in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, on Sunday.
“The Civil Rights body said her attention was called to this brazen criminal act of deprivation of the fundamental human rights of Mr.Idoko by media reports that “the incident happened on the 18th of August, 2022 at the APC National party secretariat where Her Excellency, the Minister of State, FCT, Hajia Ramatu Tijni Aliyu, was present as she was part of the committee that was inaugurated for North-West support for Tinubu. Outside the event venue, it was reported that one of Her Excellency’s drivers was being beaten up and in a pool of his blood with Police officers and other civilians being present, the driver was accused wrongly and criminally of being a thief. He was rescued and rushed to the hospital for medical attention after the mob was duly informed that the driver is not a thief, rather he is a driver of Her Excellency.
“The Police officers and the CSO attached to the Party Secretariat who were assaulting him alleged that the driver assaulted them, which was not the case as the driver was rather being assaulted by them to the point of injuries.”
HURIWA stated that “from her preliminary investigation, it would seem that the security chief of the All Progressive Congress's National Secretariat was overzealous by not exercising his powers judiciously and in civility but descended to the arena of arrogance of power by instigating allegedly the physical torture of Mr Idoko whose human rights to the dignity of his person, his rights to liberty and his right to life enshrined in chapter 4 of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria of 999 as amended was almost threatened even as he suffered spectacular physical bruises and psychological and emotional trauma which we are calling on the National Human Rights Commission to investigate even as we are urging the Inspector General of Police to exercise his powers to ensure that the police operatives who took part passively or actively in this brazen act of violence are brought to book.”
The group noted that mob actions have had a long history and predate Nigeria. Citing a recent report that between 2020 and 2021, nearly 200 persons lost their lives in reported cases of jungle justice in Nigeria, according to a report by the Daily Trust newspaper, HURIWA said it would be asking the Senate President to be personally interested in this instance.
Source: News Express
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