New Telegraph

Anxiety as Police ‘random raids’ lead 107 youths into Imo prison

No fewer than 107 young men and women have been arrested at different locations in the Imo State following a spate of mass arrests in the state. The suspects have been tried and remanded in prison. This is also as the suspects were among other things accused of plotting to overthrow President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Hope Uzodinma of the state.

Findings by our correspondent indicated that the trial of the suspects was first held on Tuesday, May 18 at the car park of the Shell Camp Police Division, Owerri and later shifted to the conference hall of the State Commissioner of Police who is the plaintiff in the suit, at the command headquarters Owerri, the state capital on Friday, May 22. Three Magistrates presided over the trial. Two of them whose names were made available to our correspondent include His Worship, Kadurumba and His Worship, Agummadu.

The 107 suspects were remanded on a seven-count charge in a suit marked No/OW/218c/2021. The suspects were accused of having conspired among themselves to commit a treasonous felony with the intention to forcefully remove President Muhammadu Buhari from office unconstitutionally.

They were equally accused of planning to unconstitutionally overthrow the government of Senator Hope Uzodinma of Imo state. The suspects were also accused of instigating foreign countries to invade the country (Nigeria), an offence contrary to section 41 and punishable under section 516 of the Criminal Code Cap C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, as applicable in Imo state.

In another count charge, the suspects were accused of being members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) which had allegedly taken to arms in order to overthrow the President and government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as the government of Imo State alleging that their intention was manifested in the attacking and burning down of the Nigeria Police Force state headquarters, Owerri Imo State and the Nigeria Correctional Services, Owerri on April 5, 2021, thereby committing felony contrary to and punishable under section 41 of the Criminal Code Cap C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 as applicable in Imo state.

The suspects were further accused of embarking on hostage-taking on March 29, 2021, within Owerri Magisterial district committing an offence punishable under section 6 of the Prohibition act of hostagetaking and related offences Law No.4 of Imo state. On March 20 at about 6.29 pm at the divisional police headquarters, Isiala Mbano, the suspects at a gunpoint abducted a woman police constable, Esther Njoku and took her hostage and demanded ransom as a condition to release her or killed her contrary to section 4 of the Prohibition of Hostage-taking and Related offences Law 4 of Imo State 2009.

The suspects were alleged to have armed themselves with dangerous weapons did willfully and unlawfully set ablaze the Divisional police headquarters at Isiala Mbano committing an offence punishable under section 443(a) of the criminal code Cap C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 as applicable in Imo state. They were further accused of being in possession of hard drugs (India hemp) and cocaine without lawful authority committing an offence punishable under section 11(d) of the National Drugs Law and Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30 Laws of the federation of Nigeria, 2004 as applicable in Imo State.

The presiding Magistrates opposed the applications for bail by counsels to the suspects on the grounds that the allegations of treasonable felony and arson were weighty and not bailable and therefore remanded those already arraigned at the Correctional Services, Owerri. Meanwhile, relatives of some of the suspects have said that most of those arrested were arrested in beer parlours and other drinking joints and not actually in the course of committing any crime. A middle-aged woman whose husband was among the suspects said: “My husband had returned from work and was hungry but I was yet to finish cooking.

He left for the neighbourhood to find something to eat while waiting for me to finish up the cooking. I was waiting for him in the house; when I was alerted that my husband has been arrested and taken to the Police headquarter.” Another suspect told his family that he was just charging his phone at a beer joint when policemen swooped on them and arrested everyone in sight. Also lamenting his arrest by the rampaging police officer, a resident of Owerri, the Imo State capital with Facebook account name Boris Fever wrote on his wall: “I was arrested yesterday by 8 pm along Orji road, Owerri.

The policemen put me in a bus along with other random persons they arrested including an NYSC member in his uniform. They labelled us ESN members and took us to their station at the Fire Service. “By 10:30 pm, I got out because I told them I worked for a Special Adviser to the Governor, so I was asked to pay N20,000. I negotiated and finally paid N15,000. I don’t know about the other guys who were still in there when I left. All I can say is; if you are resident in Owerri, make sure you find your way home by 7 pm latest… 6 pm actually! “Your ID card won’t save you. They don’t give a shit about it, except you’ve got money available to spend.

Spread the news and inform everyone resident in Owerri you know.” Commenting on the development, civil society group, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) condemned the action describing it as outlandish. Reacting through a statement, the Executive Director of RULAAC said: “I was shocked to receive the information that no less than 107 citizens were indiscriminately arrested from different locations in Owerri, Imo State, labelled IPOB members and arraigned, not in any court, but at the Car park of the Shell Camp Police Division, Owerri and later shifted to the Conference Hall of the Commissioner of Police, Imo State with some magistrates presiding. “They were reportedly charged with offences of treason, including plots to overthrow President Buhari and Governor Hope Uzodinma and currently remanded at the Owerri prisons.

The sheer number of persons arrested and arraigned in one day by the police in Imo State for purportedly conspiring to overthrow President Buhari and Governor Hope Uzodinma is outlandish. “With what weapons were they going to carry out the overthrow? This is nothing more than a malicious declaration of war against innocent and law-abiding residents of Imo State going about their legitimate businesses. It is a direct outcome of the Inspector- General of Police’s recent directive to Police Officers to take the war to IPOB and not to bother about observing the rules of engagement or be deterred by the media shouts of human rights violation. He assured them of protection. “In the eyes of the police, everybody resident in Imo State and sighted is automatically deemed to be members of IPOB and should be arrested for treason.

We are scandalised by the indiscriminate and arbitrary manner of the arrest of such a huge number of people. None of them was said to have been arrested in any scene of a crime or with any incriminating object. Most of them said they were arrested while walking along within their neighbourhoods or sitting out in a beer parlour or other public places.” RULAAC argued that even if they were arrested for any credible offence, is it heard of those people accused of any crime are arraigned and tried anywhere outside a courtroom? The statement from RULAAC continued: “We know that the courts have been shut down for weeks due to the ongoing strike by judicial officers across the country including Imo State.

What manner of Magistrates will offer themselves to seat in the trial at a location outside a courtroom and purport to try and be used to remand such a huge number of citizens in prison? Imagine 107 persons sent to prison in one day! “This is a clear case of policing with animosity.

And it is an ill-wind that will blow no one- not the citizens, not the Police – any good.” The Executive Director of RULAAC called for the investigation of the conduct of the Police and also a probe into the activities of the Magistrates who sat and tried the 107 citizens.

“The conduct of the Police in Imo state should be investigated by the Police Service Commission while the conduct of those Magistrates who have acted like judicial mercenaries should be investigated by the state judicial service commission. “We call on the police to end its malicious, vengeful, predatory and malevolent operations in Imo State and rather seek dialogue with stakeholders in the state in the spirit of community policing. We call for the release of all innocent persons illegally remanded in custody and an end to the labelling of Imo residents and indiscriminate mass arrests of people going about their businesses peacefully.”

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