Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana,
has raised the alarm over the detention of 15 Nigerian citizens by the Nigerian
navy for seven months without trial.
The senior advocate said Dada
Labinjo, a navy captain, Sherifat Ibe Lambert (also known as Mrs Bola Labinjo),
a lt. commander, and 13 others have been in detention since September 2018 for
an undisclosed offence and without trial.
A magistrate’s order that Lambert
should be released has been violated by
the navy while the detainees have also been denied access to their lawyers and
family members since they were detained, Falana said in a statement he issued
on Sunday afternoon.
He called on Abubakar Malami,
attorney-general of the federation, to charge the naval personnel responsible
for the violations of the fundamental rights of the detainees with contempt of
court and acts of torture under the Criminal Code Act and the Anti Torture
Act.
He wrote: “Sometime in September
2018, the Nigerian Navy arrested 15 Nigerian citizens including Navy Captain
Dada Labinjo, Lt. Commander Sherifat Ibe Lambert (also known as Mrs Bola
Labinjo) and Benjamin Gold for an undisclosed offence. The detainees were
immediately dumped in a military detention facility at Apapa in Lagos. In order
to legalise the arrest and detention of the detainees the Naval Authorities
obtained a remand warrant from a Magistrate Court sitting at Apapa. But as the
detainees who were incarcerated for over 3 months were not charged with any
criminal offence the Magistrate Court reviewed their case on January 7, 2019
and ordered the Naval Authorities to release them from illegal custody
forthwith.
“But in utter contempt of the
valid order of the Magistrate Court the Authorities of the Nigerian Navy
transferred the detainees to another military detention facility in Abuja.
Following the application by Lt. Commander Bola Labinjo filed for the
enforcement of her fundamental right to personal liberty the Federal High Court
directed the Naval Authorities to release her from illegal custody. But the
valid order of the Federal High Court has equally been ignored by the Naval
Authorities without any legal justification. Even though the civilians among
the detainees are not subject to service law the Naval Authorities have
continued to detain them in military detentuon facilities.
“s if that is not enough, the
detainees have been denied access to their family members, medical doctors and
lawyers. Furthermore, the fundamental right of the detainess to dignity has
been violated as they are being held incommunicado in solitary confinement
while they are subjected to physical, mental and psychological torture in total
contravention of section 3(2) of the Anti Torture Act, 2017 which provides that
“secret detention places, solitary confinement, incommunicado or other similar
forms of detention where torture is carried out are prohibited.”
“As the prolonged incarceration
of the detainees cannot be justified under the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended or the Armed Forces Act they should be
released from custody or arraigned before a competent court of law if there is
reasonable suspicion that they have committed any criminal offence whatsoever.
However, to curb the growing culture of official impunity in the country we are
compelled to call on the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of
Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN to charge the naval personnel responsible for
the violations of the fundamental rights of the detainees with contempt of
court and acts of torture under the Criminal Code Act and the Anti Torture
Act.”
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