The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged the police to charge Glory Okolie to court or release her from custody.
This follows other calls by human right agencies, including Amnesty International, who have condemned the unlawful and illegal custody of the detained.
The 22-year-old indigene of Imo State was arrested and kept captive by the Intelligence Response Team of the Nigerian police for allegedly being friends with a suspected member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Okolie, who has been under enslavement for over 3 months without charge nor bail even after the force extorted the sum of 280,000 niara from the victim’s parents, was accused by the Nigeria Police in a statement on Sunday of spying for the IPOB.
In a statement on Tuesday, the executive secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, condemned the unprofessional conduct of the NPF, which he noted has resulted in further violation of the victim’s rights, adding that the commission will not hesitate to take legal actions against the Force.
“The Commission is therefore using this medium to demand the immediate and unconstitutional release of the detainee, or in alternative charge her to a court of competent jurisdiction so that she will enjoy the right to a fair hearing and the opportunity to defend the allegations against her if any,”
“The Chief Human Rights Officer in Nigeria stated that though these allegations are yet to be verified, ‘We will not hesitate to condemn such unprofessional conduct which undoubtedly resulted in further violation of the rights of the lady in question, because her rights to freedom of movement and liberty among several others had been allegedly violated with impunity by the very person charged with the responsibility of protecting the lives and property of citizens.’
Expressing the Commission’s stand to promote and protect the rights of citizens and foreigners resident in the country, Ojukwu noted that ample opportunities have been harnessed to educate and train the Police and other law enforcement agencies on human rights protocols.
“On our part as a national institution saddled with the responsibilities of promotion, protection and enforcement of rights of citizens and foreigners resident in Nigeria, we have not missed any available opportunity to educate and train Police personnel and indeed other law enforcement agents on human rights issues, the NHRC Act (as amended) as well as other National, Regional and International human rights instruments to which Nigeria is a signatory.
“Besides, the executive secretary recalled efforts of the Commission in assisting the government to reform and reposition the Nigerian Police Force, saying that in-depth investigations into cases of human rights violations by the Independent Investigation Panel on allegations of human rights violations by the defunct SARS conducted by the Commission and the various states are testimonies to our determination to bring sanity to the system and banish impunity like SARS was disbanded.
“He restated that there is no official state policy in Nigeria that approves the act of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, but regretted that some adamant law enforcement officers act according to their wicked whims and caprices to engage in dishonorable conduct of debasing and subjecting their fellow human beings to the lowest status that cannot be equated to treatment of beasts and other lower animals, and such is inconsistent with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, international covenant on civil and political rights, (ICCPR) international covenant on Economic, social and cultural rights (ICESCR), and other relevant Bills of Rights to which Nigeria is a party.”
