Activist slams N50m suit against police

REPORT FROM NEWSWATCH TIMES

(NIGERIA) A human rights activist from Anambra State, Chief Eloka Obinani, has slammed a N50 million civil suit against the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Kwale Division in Delta State, Superintendent Umeh Udofia, and some of his subordinates for breach of his fundamental human rights, as enshrined in sections 34, 35, 36, 41 and 45 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In the suit No. HCK/M/97/2014, Eloka also filed an interim injunction restraining the DPO and other respondents, including Constable Adjekughele, Constable Odeh, Supol Nnacho, DCO, Mr. Sam, DC State CID, Asaba and Commissioner of Police, Delta State, their agents, servants, privies, and or anybody deriving authority under them from arresting, harassing, molesting and or intimidating him, pending the hearing and determination of this Motion on Notice.

Granting the injunction on Wednesday, the presiding Judge, Justice Jalogho-Williams, said the order would subsist for the next two weeks hence, adding that in the interim, respondents are to be put on notice as the case was adjourned for hearing.

In the motion filed on his behalf, by his legal counsel, Comrade I. W. Agholor for J. K. Agholor and Associates, the applicant is seeking a declaration of the court that the respondents have no legal and or constitutional right whatsoever to break and enter his house at No. 1 Adaeze Bakery Close, Kwale at about 11 p.m. on November 21, 2014, to arrest him without a search warrant and warrant of arrest.

He further asked the court to declare that he has legal and constitutional right as a citizen of Nigeria and as a member of Human Rights Restoration Movement (HRRM), a human rights organisation to report ills and illegal violations in the society to persons in authority, including the Inspector General of Police, IGP, and the Police Service Commission, PSC.

He also sought a declaration that the invasion of his residence by some of the respondents at 11 p.m. on November 21 and arrest of his wife, Mrs. Besi Obinani and two of their children in place of him is illegal, unlawful, unconstitutional, null, void, cruel, insolent, outrageous, malicious, unprofessional, acting in bad fate and of no effect, adding that they acted in complete disregard to due process of law and the Nigerian constitution.

Also, in his affidavit of facts, the applicant averred that since he became the coordinator of Ndokwa West Local Government chapter of HRRM, he and other members of HRRM had assisted a lot of persons whose rights were violated by the police in the area.

He further averred that in one of the cases, one Mr. Ofem, a policeman attached to Kwale police Division, arrested a lot of motorcycle operators and demanded N10,000 from each of them as condition for the release of the motorcycles, adding that with the connivance of the DPO, they charged one of the motorcyclists, Chinedu Ojimadu, to court for refusing to cough out N10,000 bail fee.

He also averred that he wrote a petition to the IGP and PSC against the DPO for charging Ojimadu to court for being in possession of one Skygo motorcycle suspected to have been stolen, despite the fact that Ojimadu has the genuine purchasing receipt of the motorcycle, adding that consequent upon his petitions to the IGP and PSC dated August 27 and October 27, 2014, IGP ordered the sixth respondent, CP Delta to investigate the matter and report back to him.

He said the respondents ganged up in defiance to the IGP’s order and arrested and detained him at the state CID on November 19, 2014 and granted him bail with a condition that he must be reporting on daily basis from Kwale to State CID, Asaba, adding that two days after, precisely on November 21, the respondents numbering about six policemen invaded his residential house at 11 p.m. forced his doors open and were shouting where is Eloka.

He said among the six policemen, the first and second respondents were among them as they were shouting that they had an instruction to kill him, adding that on hearing such statements coming out from the invaders, he ran into hiding and they now arrested his wife and children, took them to the station, detained them and charged them to court and they were granted bail.