The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Edo State Council, and the Nigerian Bar Association, Benin branch have called for disciplinary action against the Police officers who unleashed assault on the members of the two unions and a State Counsel attached to the Covid-19 mobile court in Benin City, just as they demanded unreserved apology from the Edo State Police Command.
Mr. Lucky Isibor, a journalist and Matthew Edaghese Esq, a lawyer and chairman of the NBA Benin branch Task Force on maintenance of Human Rights in the enforcement of Covid-19 regulations, were reportedly assaulted on Monday, May 19 at Uhrokpota Mobile Court by one Sgt Agatha, and DSP Imoekeme Isa, when the duo made an attempt to rescue the state counsel, Ama Iyamu (female) deployed to the mobile court by the Ministry of Justice who was being assaulted by the two Police officers.
Reports say trouble started when Counsel to the state (female lawyer) tried to check the excesses of DSP Imoekeme Isa on his indiscriminate arrests and raids on food items in violation of the Attorney General’s earlier warning against it.
Irked by the lawyer’s caution, DSP Isa reportedly attacked the female lawyer which prompted Mr. Isibor, journalist attached to Edo NBA mobile court monitoring team to intervene and was consequently rough handled and beaten along with Edaghase Esq at the mobile court.
According to reports, it took the intervention of some good spirited individuals to rescue Isibor, Edaghase and the state Counsel from the rampaging policemen.
Addressing newsmen at a joint NUJ/NBA briefing, Chairman, Edo NUJ, Roland Osakwe, said the briefing became necessary as a result of rising human rights abuse by security agencies.
Describing the ugly incident as affront on the NUJ and the NBA, and an attack on the system set up by the government, the NUJ chairman demanded unreserved apology from the State Police Command on, or before Tuesday next week, as he threatened that legal action would be taken if such is not done.
“Since the incident happened on Monday, we have not heard anything from the Command, even when they have been informed of the incident. We want to use this opportunity to call on the Command that we demand an unreserved apology from them within now and next week Tuesday. Failure to do so, we will not hesitate to take to the other option which we know we can also use in seeking our redress.
“These Police officers: DSP Isa and Sgt Agatha should not be allowed to be in the Police force because this is not an era of Banana republic where anybody chooses what he or she wants to do. In fact, they are bringing shame to the police force”, Osakue said.
On his part, chairman, NBA, Benin Branch, Collins Ogiegbean Esq, described the two officers as “habitual human rights abusers who have continued to abuse the system.”
Ogiegbean noted that the members who were assaulted by these two officers were not their first victim, adding that market women and the poor are their regular victims.
He said, “DSP Isa and Sgt Agatha seem to have a long history. In fact, you can call them habitual human rights abusers who have continued to abuse the system; they have abused the system habitually. They are known for this act.
“The Journalist and NBA member that were assaulted are not their first victim. In fact, the market women, and the very poor people are their regular victims. They go to the market place to carry what they call perishable, and they bring it to the mobile court and leave the perishable to perish.”
Describing free press and fearless Bar as sine qua non to certainty in any society, the NBA chairman called for sanction of these two officers by the state Police Command.
