Douglas Blessing, Port Harcourt
National President of Admiralty Lawyers Society of Nigeria (ALSN), Barr Angus Chukwuka, has petitioned the Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo and Speaker, Anambra State House of Assembly, over infringement on his fundamental rights allegedly by a lawmaker, Chimezie Ikwunne, through the use of police operatives.
Chukwuka, a Port Harcourt-based human rights and constitutional lawyer, also petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), against Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP Peace Aneke, Ikwunne and IGP Monitoring Unit, who he said humiliated and violated his rights and those of his clients in Anambra State, over land grabbing issue.
Briefing journalists in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday, Chukwuka alleged that the lawmaker was using the police to arbitrarily arrest, incarcerate and torture land owners in Umuonitsha, Ebenebe, in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, in a bid to frustrate them into forgetting about the land, to enable him (Ikwunne) and some other persons grab the lands, even when the matter was already before the court.
Chukwuka, who is the legal counsel for the affected members of the community, said he and his clients (seven persons) in the suit, who are representing other owners of land were ‘abducted’ in Awka, Anambra State capital, by fully armed men, who were later identified as operatives of IGP Monitoring Unit.
According to the ALSN national president, he and his clients were detained in Awka and later driven to Abuja where they were detained for days before NBA came for his release.
Chukwuka said his clients were forced to bail themselves from the police with the sum of N1.2million in Abuja over trumped up charges, whereas bail was free.
He called on the Inspector General of Police, Anambra State governor, House of Assembly and NBA to investigate the matter.
He said: “Chimezie Ikwunne, a member of Anambra State House of Assembly is using the police to intimidate the people in order to grab their lands. My clients and myself were arrested, detained and tortured for days on the orders of Ikwunne, even when the matter is before the court.
“I have written to the Police Service Commission, the National Human Rights Commission, Anambra State House of Assembly, Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State and the Nigerian Bar Association to wade into the matter, because the Police have made lawyers preys in their hand.
“The illegal arrest and detention is a ploy for Ikwunne and the Police to frustrate the court in order to arbitrarily grab people’s lands.
“The N1.2 million bail money paid to the Police must be refunded because bail is free. We have written the IGP and if he doesn’t answer us satisfactorily, we will go to court.”
