Police IG, Gov Obiano petitioned by community over rights abuse

The Inspector-General of Police, Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra state and the Human Rights Commission have been urged to rise and halt further gross abuse of fundamental human rights of the people and leaders of Otoko village in Isuanaoma, Awka North local government area of Anambra state.

Making the call at the weekend while handing over a petition to the IG to newsmen in his office, counsel to the village, Humphery Udechukwu, specifically asked the IG to stop all forms of harassment and intimidation and arrests by his men at the insistence of one Festus Onyeagolu, a Ghana based businessman, who allegedly swore to use his resources to bring Otoko people and their leaders to their knees, so that he would take their land, Ilodigwe land.

The legal practitioner also asked Gov. Obiano to save his clients by prevailing on his special adviser on Security, Chief Chikaodili Anara, who was alledely being used by Onyeagolus t o use his vigilant opetatives to intimidate and harass the villagers.

He said in one ocassion they allegedly brought vigilant operatives who shot indiscriminately scaring people away from their village, only for them to collect the bullet shells and took them to police to allege that it was his clients that did the shoot-out, hence the arrests and detention of his clients.

Udechukwu lamented that because the Police from Force Headquarters, Abuja were heavily compromised by Festus Onyeagolu, his brothers Paulinus, Anthony and others, they would throw respect to Court to the dog.

Consequently, they have been arresting his clients, said the Lawyer indiscriminately in a matter that was pending in a Court, saying that an Ihiala High Court in Anambra State has ordered the police to allow the status quo to remain, yet they to go about arresting and detaining his clients.

He said that as at last Friday, April 7, 2017, one of his clients was still being detained at Force Headquarters, Abuja on trump up charges for more than two weeks without allowing him to be taken on bail.

One of the leaders who was being hunted for arrest, Nnamdi Oduenyi, said that efforts have been made in the past, including a peace meeting the Police authority asked the former Commissioner of Police in the State, B.A. Karma, now Assistant Inspector-General of Police (IG) Zone 9, Umuahia to look into the matter but Festus walked out of of Katma, saying he would not abide by the decisions of Karma.

But Udechukwu said that Festus and his cohorts rather have been writing spurious petititions to Force Headquarters, Abuja, which in turn came down here and arrest his clients, charge them at Abuja and at the same time come down here to press similar charges against his clients.

“Sir, we hereby urge you to use your good office to discontinue any further arrest and also direct the Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command or AIG zone 9, Umuahia, to look into the matter and allow the Court to finish the matter, whereas the matter is subjudice, in alternative call Mr. Festu Onyeagolu and his cohorts to order”.