Civil Rights Advocacy Group – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA), has castigated the attempt by the Imo State government to justify what it described as ‘the gestapo style’ abduction of a radio journalist, Mr. Nonso Uba by some unidentified armed men on the street of Owerri near the Roman Catholic Cathedral Church Owerri at the weekend over alleged slander against the person of Governor Hope Uzodimma.
It specifically expressed shock that under a democracy, the police operatives paid with tax payers money, behaved like terrorists or kidnappers by double crossing the moving car of Uba in their overzealous determination to display crude force leading to the abandonment of the car of the journalist by the roadside after he was reportedly whisked away and flown to Abuja.
HURIWA in a statement by its National Coordinator, comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, therefore urged the Nigeria Police Force to immediately free the abducted journalist, apologise for the illegal manner of his arrest or charge him to a competent Court of law if the governor has good evidence.
It said that Governor Uzodimma must be ready to submit himself in court to establish his allegation of libel/slander against the Owerri based journalist.
HURIWA also tasked the Police Service Commission to ascertain how the Nigeria Police Force could mobilise huge financial resources to probably fly a chattered aircraft or pay for the expensive tickets on commercial airline with the sole purpose of invading Owerri to arrest a journalist over a libel issue.
It noted that libel or slander under the Nigerian jurisprudence as in most jurisdictions around the World is essentially a CIVIL MATTER, stressing that it was unnecessary for Governor Uzodimma to reach out to the Police Force headquarters in Abuja which led to what most eye witnesses described as broad daylight armed kidnapping of a citizen of Nigeria and a professional radio journalist Nonso Uba.
The rights group also said the strident effort by the spokesperson of the Imo State government to justify the illegality and the gestapo style abduction of a citizen was untenable and absolutely illogical.
HURIWA further said; “If we may ask, is the treasury of the Nigeria Police Force overflowing with slush fund made up of United States dollars that it is now going about abducting citizens accused by a governor and then flying him to Abuja from Owerri when the investigation could have been handled by the nearest Divisional Police Officer.
“If it is an actionable matter then, the accused person is invited with his legal representative and the matter handed over to the prosecution team to take to a competent Court of law for adjudication with all the constitutional rights of fairness, objectivity and neutrality allowed for an unfettered determination lawfully,” it said.
HURIWA noted that the Imo State Government on Saturday claimed that the police in Abuja arrested the journalist on allegations of criminal libel bordering on threat to state security, adding that the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Declan Emelumba, in a statement in Owerri regretted that commentators have been blinded by emotions, such that they have completely ignored the alleged offence of the radio presenter.
HURIWA therefore condemned the excessive use of force by the police drafted from Abuja who reportedly acted like armed kidnappers in trying to seize a journalist which they reportedly succeeded by throwing him into their waiting vehicle and zoomed off.
The rights group accused Imo State government of violating Section 15(5) of the Constitution by abusing its power and resorting to self-help of inviting trucks load of police operatives to arrest a journalist over allegations of libel that is a civil matter.
HURIWA further said; “If the governor thinks he has been libelled, could have sued the journalist in a competent Court of law as is done by most people instead of displaying State power and probably using the resources of Imo State to wage a personal case of libel. If Mr. Hope Uzodimma was libelled, is it Imo State that is libelled?”
