Falana rallies NBA against illegal arrests, detention by police, others

• MRA knocks constabulary implicit planned ‘ambush’ connected 3 journalists today
• Mahama wants lawyers to foster societal responsibility, African ineligible ecosystem

A quality rights activistic and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has urged the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to follow measures to extremity the amerciable apprehension and detention of guiltless citizens by the constabulary and different instrumentality enforcement agencies successful the country.

He disclosed this successful Lagos astatine the Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), themed: ‘Pressing Forward: A National Posture for Rebuilding Nigeria’.

He tasked lawyers with utilizing the lawsuit to found a broad mechanics for implementing the Administration of Police Establishment Act and Criminal Justice Act, which each 36 states person adopted.

Both laws person abolished the apprehension and detention of citizens for civilian wrongs and breach of declaration and made provisions for ineligible practice of suspects successful constabulary stations, conditional oregon unconditional bail, and humane attraction of suspects.

However, Falana lamented that the constabulary and different instrumentality enforcement agencies person continued to breach suspects’ cardinal rights to idiosyncratic liberty, dignity, and just hearing.

He said: “The NBA should nonstop the members of the Human Rights Committee of the 128 branches to travel Chief Magistrates during the monthly visits to each constabulary stations successful the country. Such visits volition extremity the incessant apprehension and detention of suspects and different radical arsenic the magistrates are empowered to assistance bail to suspects, bid the merchandise of suspects, oregon nonstop suspects to beryllium arraigned successful due courts.

“Let the NBA enactment pressurise the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to designate judges to behaviour monthly visits to the detention facilities of the Armed Forces, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Department of State Services successful enactment with the provisions of Section 34 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and Section 70 of the Police Establishment Act.”

Falana charged lawyers to use the provisions of the Anti-Torture Act 2017 to extremity the torture of suspects and different radical successful Nigeria. According to him, “Let the constabulary and different instrumentality enforcement officers beryllium made to cognize that the punishment for subjecting suspects to torture is 25 years imprisonment without immoderate enactment of good and that officers who torture suspects to decease are liable to beryllium tried for murder. In summation to the prosecution of torturers, the victims of torture are entitled to writer for monetary compensation.”

He called connected the authorities Attorneys General to guarantee that ineligible practitioners prosecute transgression offences successful each courts successful accordance with Section 106 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and the applicable provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Laws applicable successful the states.

He said different states should emulate Delta and Kano, which person cancelled the prosecution of transgression cases by constabulary officers who are not ineligible practitioners.

The Senior Advocate further urged the lawyers to supply pro bono ineligible services to indigent citizens with genuine complaints.

“Instead of rejecting the complaints of indigent citizens connected relationship of impecuniosity, lawyers should notation them to the offices of the Legal Aid Council, National Human Rights Commission and the Public Defender successful each authorities of the federation,” Falana added.

THIS came arsenic the Media Rights Agenda (MRA) condemned the persistent harassment and intimidation of journalists.

It said caller incidents of abductions, arbitrary arrests, detentions, and different forms of attacks against media professionals by information and instrumentality enforcement agencies person reached alarming levels and airs a sedate information to media state and ideology successful Nigeria.

The MRA disclosed the caller cases involving Managing Editor Ayomide Eweje, erstwhile newsman Wisdom Okezie, and Publisher Oluwamodupe Akinola.

The Nigeria Police person requested that they study to the bureau of the Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) of Police, Zone 2 Command successful Onikan, Lagos, today, August 27, 2024, to assistance with an undisclosed investigation.

The 3 individuals received abstracted letters dated August 22, 2024. The letters were signed by Deputy Commissioner of Police Martin Nwogoh connected behalf of the AIG successful complaint of Zone 2 office of the Nigeria Police. The letters stated that the bureau was investigating a reported matter. However, they did not specify who reported the substance oregon what accusation was required from the recipients to assistance them hole adequately.

The lawman constabulary commissioner asked Eweje, Okezie and Akinola to study to the serviceman successful complaint of the Zonal Monitoring Unit, stressing that “this is simply a fact-finding workout successful the involvement of justness and fairness.”

In a connection successful Lagos by the Head of its Legal Department, Obioma Okonkwo, MRA said the police’s nonaccomplishment to supply details successful the invitation missive was an ambush.

It added that it had identified a signifier successful galore specified invitations by the constabulary designed to lure journalists to the constabulary presumption lone to detain them erstwhile they study successful effect to the expected invitation.

It said it was funny that the constabulary had go the limb of prime for nationalist officials and different affluent oregon almighty individuals seeking to soundlessness and punish journalists who people adverse reports astir them.

“It seems the constabulary present see journalism a transgression specified that anybody unhappy astir immoderate study published by the media tin get the constabulary to hunt down immoderate writer progressive with uncommon zeal adjacent arsenic existent criminals spell astir their concern unchallenged for the astir part.”

Okonkwo stated that the constabulary often assertion to beryllium investigating complaints arsenic a crushed for summoning journalists, detaining them, oregon taking them to court. However, they don’t analyse to verify the information of the stories oregon articles published by journalists that led to the complaints against them.

She called connected the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to instrumentality measures to halt the evident maltreatment of constabulary powers, noting that the accordant nonaccomplishment to cheque this signifier successful the past had created a clime of impunity.

She added that astir constabulary officers present consciousness assured that determination volition beryllium nary antagonistic consequences for them, which has, successful turn, encouraged galore and resulted successful an upsurge of unjustifiable harassment of journalists.

MEANWHILE, speaking connected ‘Africa’s Future Amid Rising Security, Economic and Political Challenges’ astatine the NBA conference, erstwhile President of Ghana, John Mahama, said the emergence of civilian unrest reflects profound disillusionment with the antiauthoritarian process, stressing that the work to fortify the pillars of democracy, regularisation of law, sphere powers, and the extortion of cardinal quality rights lies wrong the profession.

He urged lawyers to draught legislations that equilibrium economical improvement with biology sustainability, ensuring that the Africa of time is not constructed astatine the disbursal of its earthy heritage.

“You indispensable critically analyse our law frameworks, electoral processes and accountability mechanisms. The NBA indispensable beryllium astatine the forefront of advocating for reforms that heighten the credibility of our antiauthoritarian institutions and reconstruct spot successful the societal declaration betwixt the governed and their leaders,” helium said.

He explained that the ineligible assemblage plays a important relation successful promoting transparency and accountability successful governance, and reforms of the ineligible acquisition systems are needed to nutrient lawyers who are not lone technically proficient but besides profoundly committed to societal responsibility.

Speaking connected the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), helium noted that the inaugural is not conscionable an economical necessity but a realisation of the Pan-African dream. He stated that lawyers indispensable advocator for and instrumentality ineligible mechanisms enabling the escaped question of radical and goods crossed borders portion addressing morganatic information concerns.

Lawyers were tasked with tirelessly moving to harmonise migration laws, recognise nonrecreational qualifications crossed subordinate states, and found robust systems for the communal designation of judgments and arbitral awards, arsenic implementing AfCFTA provides varying opportunities for their profession.

“For your profession, implementing AfCFTA opens up caller opportunities and responsibilities. You indispensable proactively accommodate your ineligible acquisition and signifier to conscionable the needs of an integrated African market. This involves processing agencies successful planetary commercialized law, cross-border districts, and comparative African law. It besides means establishing Pan-African instrumentality firms and ineligible networks susceptible of serving clients successful assorted countries crossed the continent, thereby fostering a genuinely African ineligible ecosystem,” helium said.

Senate President of Nigeria, Godswill Akpabio, emphasised that the National Assembly is not conscionable a legislative assemblage but indispensable besides service arsenic a captious instauration successful the antiauthoritarian process, ensuring checks and balances wrong the government.

He stated that they are presently drafting authorities to code the payment of non-judicial workers, who play a important relation successful the occurrence of the judicial system.

He besides urged lawyers to retrieve that their spot lies successful their numbers and unified intent for a renewed mindset, adding that they person the imaginable to alteration Nigeria and the full continent.

Akpabio noted that the NBA played a pivotal relation successful shaping the ineligible and governmental scenery that facilitated Nigeria’s way to independency successful 1960.

“Let america retrieve that yesterday’s mindset took america to wherever we are contiguous and today’s mindset volition decidedly instrumentality america to wherever we volition beryllium tomorrow. To embody our taxable and reshape our nation, we indispensable alteration our thinking, attitudes, and the full paradigm shift. We indispensable alteration our minds,” Akpabio said.

For his part, the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), stated that helium would found a moving radical to reappraisal the federation’s laws.