CSO blasts police over attack on driver of FCT minister, demands transparent investigation
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Prominent civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has urged the Inspector General of Police Alhaji Usman Alkali Baba to use his good offices to direct the Police Commissioner in the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Babaji Sunday to institute a transparent and unbiased investigation of remote and immediate circumstances surrounding the alleged physical torture of the driver of the Honourable minister of State for FCT by name Mr. Idoko by an unruly mob watched by armed policemen at the National Secretariat of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Abuja on Friday.
HURIWA is considering approaching the National Assembly through the Committees on public petitions, the offices of the Senate President and the Honourable Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives to seek redress for this flagrant abuses of the constitutionally protected human rights of Mr. Idoko by some mobs, police and watched by the many police operatives at the National Secretariat of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
HURIWA also expressed shock that the Honourable minister of State for FCT whose driver was brutalised and had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment is being dragged to a phantom incident that a section of the media misrepresented as an assault on some media practitioners without making reference to the wanton violations of the constitutionally protected human rights of the Driver to the Minister who could have been killed in the presence of many police operatives who are now cooking up a different tales by moonlight to deflate the severity of their crime against Mr Idoko the driver to the Honourable minister of State for FCT.
HURIWA in a media Statement said it has been told that the Commissioner of Police in the FCT may have been told different but fake story by the offending police operatives responsible for the severe physical brutality meted out on the driver of the Honourable minister of State for FCT because signal reaching our desk is of the view that the FCT police hierarchy may have taken sides with their operatives who committed these horrendous and despicable crime of human rights violations on this poor Nigerian and if the office of the IGP is not informed of this primitive act of injustice and brutality on a Nigerian citizen then there would be no possible redress and punishment for the offending police operatives who are now twisting the narratives against the victim of their spectacular human rights abuse. HURIWA says it will take up the matter to ensure that justice is done.
The Civil Rights body said her attention was called to this brazen criminal act of deprivation of the fundamental human rights of Mr. Idoko by some media workers affiliated to the organisation just as the Rights group said: “The incident happened on the 18th of August, 2022 at the APC National party secretariat where Her Excellency, the Minister of State, FCT, Hajia Ramatu Tijni Aliyu was present as she was part of the committee that was inaugurated for North – West support for Tinubu. Outside the event venue, it was reported that one of Her Excellency ‘s drivers was being beaten up and in a pool of his blood with Police officers and other civilians being present, the driver was accused wrongly and criminally of being a thief. He was rescued and rushed to the hospital for medical attention after the mob was duly informed that the driver is not a thief, rather he is a driver of Her Excellency.
The Police officers and the CSO attached to the Party Secretariat who were assaulting him alleged that the driver assaulted them, which was not the case as the driver was rather being assaulted by them to the point of injuries.”
HURIWA through the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko stated that from her preliminary investigation, it would seem that the security chief of the All Progressive Congress’s National Secretariat was overzealous by not exercising his powers judiciously and in civility but descended to the arena of arrogance of power by instigating allegedly the physical torture of the driver of the Honourable minister of State for FCT Mr. IDOKO whose human rights to the dignity of his person, his rights to liberty and his right to life enshrined in chapter 4 of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria of 999 as amended was almost threatened even as he suffered spectacular physical bruises and psychological and emotional trauma which we are calling on the National Human Rights Commission to investigate even as we are urging the Inspector General of Police to exercise his powers to ensure that the police operatives who took part passively or actively in this brazen act of violence are brought to book.
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“We in the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) are happy to observed that under newly passed and signed a revelation the Act that the ambit of the Force operations has been broadened to facilitate the achievement of its general objective which is to provide an effective police service that complies with the principles of accountability, transparency, protection of human rights and freedom. Section 4 of the Act is replete with extensive functions of the Force, notably, imposing an obligation on the police to protect the rights and of every Nigerian in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, and other applicable laws. HURIWA is so far satisfied with the newly found optimism on the part of the Inspector General of Police Alhaji Usman Alkali Baba to instil professional excellence and dexterity to the duty of the police of Nigeria and we have no doubt that his office will ensure that this poor Nigerian citizen whose rights are abused by the police operatives alongside other members of the unruly mob are brought to justice and his rights the were abused redressed satisfactorily”.
