…. As Eagle crack squad use machetes to force confession from illegally arrested residents
Lorine Emenike
The Rivers State Civil Rights Council has decried the recent unruly torture and human right abuses by men of the eagle crack squad of the Nigerian Police Force on citizens of the state.
Speaking to newsmen in Port Harcourt on Friday, the National Coordinator of the Civil Right Council, Barr. Aruchukwu Paul Stephen Ogbonna stated that “the increasing cases of the human right abuses by the police in the state have been a source of concern to the civil right council”
According to him: “After an emergency meeting by the civil right council to deliberate on ways to end this issue particularly in reference to the emergent issue by the eagle crack unit whereby one Solomon Cletus, Michael Ikeji and Opuari Biobele were macheted by the eagle crack unit in a bid to compel them through acts of torture to accept that they were kidnappers when they were not and other cases of human right abuse and the use of machete and unconventional means by the police to obtain statements from people, subjecting them to circumstances that are rogue foul to the provision of the anti-torture law has attracted our attention.
“We are aware that their lawyers have complained to the necessary quarters, to the commissioner of police. But we use this medium to call upon the commissioner of police to do everything humanly possible to stop this act of torture which has become a norm and an everyday activity by particularly men of the e-crack unit.
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“It is completely unacceptable to us that police officers will adopt an unconstitutional and seemingly criminal measure to deal with Nigerian citizens in the name of policing.
“This is not policing, it is a gross human right abuse and the civil right council will not hesitate if the commissioner of police doesn’t take any cogent action to leverage the relevant laws of the land to do what is necessary to bring an end, such evil actions by police officers.
“We can no longer condone a situation whereby the citizens will be living in fear of the brutality and recklessness of officers and men under the command of the commissioner of police.
“Caesar’s wife should be above suspension. He should rise to the occasion at this time, timely and respond to the citizens and ensure that the case of Solomon Cletus, Biobele Opuari and Michael Ikeji like other cases are not swept under the carpet, that is our demand.
“We should on our own too, petition the commissioner of police, chronicling incidence of human right abuses and act of torture and we shall follow it up until justice is done to the victim”
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