Femi Falana, human rights lawyer,
says the treatment Dino Melaye, embattled Kogi senator, is receiving from the
police is similar to the “humiliation” Nigerians face in the hands of security
agencies.
The senator — accused of
gunrunning, attempted suicide, among other offences — was arraigned by the
police before two courts in Abuja and Kogi on a stretcher.
Prior to that, he was being
treated for injuries sustained while trying to escape police custody.
Falana said the senator’s
arraignment on a stretcher is “unacceptable, degrading and humiliating”.
He said the act violates the
fundamental right to the senator’s dignity as guaranteed by the 1999
constitution and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
He, however, added: “Even though
the senator has my sympathy, it is indistinguishable that he has only been
given a little dose of the humiliating treatment that is daily meted out to the
flotsam and jetsam of our unjust society by the Nigeria police force and other
law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.”
The lawyer said Melaye’s case
should not be treated in isolation by the senate and the media.
He said even though the
solidarity of the federal lawmakers with the Kogi senator is understandable,
“the tragic turn of events calls for sober reflection”.
“Apart from joining the call for
the immediate release of Sheik Ibraheem Elzakzaky, and Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd)
in line with the valid and subsisting orders of competent courts, the national
assembly is called upon to take advantage of Senator Melaye’s case to adopt and
domesticate the United Nations Minimum Standard for the Treatment of Criminal
Suspects in Nigeria without any delay,” he said.
Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the
house of representatives, had also told the police that Melaye’s prosecution
must not come at the expense of his death.
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