Anambra State Government must begin to hold its officials to account for their actions if the frequent cases of inhumane actions against the people by government workers will stop.
The Convener, of the Recover Nigeria Project, Comrade Osita Obi, stated this in a chat with a TNC correspondent in Awka, Anambra State Capital.
Recently, Mr. Wilfred Ezike, popularly known as Mgbilimgba, who was recently brutalized by the officers of the Special Anti-Touting Squad Anambra (SASA), had slammed a five hundred million naira lawsuit against the state government for the actions meted out to him.
The tragic incident of March 9, 2024, which leaked through a viral social media video, saw the agents of the Anti-Touting Squad brutalizing and hitting Mr. Ezike with a wooden pestle on the bony parts of his body, including his legs, hands, and chest, and others, as a way of eliciting a confession from him for an offense they suspected he committed.
Ezike, in the lawsuit, with suit number FHC/AWK/CS/103/2024 recently filed at the Federal High Court, Awka, through his legal team led by Barr. Ifeanyi Okeke made 16 prayers to the Court in his pursuit of justice.
The suit, which alleges serious violation of human rights of the Applicant, has the Anambra State Government, the Attorney General of the State, Hon. Solomon Chukwuebuka Onwuemene (State Director, Special Anti-Touting Squad Anambra State, SASA), Mr. Fred Nweke (the Admin Officer of SASA), Kenechukwu Okolie (Officer in Charge of Torture Special Anti-Touting Squad, Anambra State), the Inspector-General of Police, and the Attorney General of the Federation as respondents.
Among others, the suit prays the Court for a declaration that the arrest and torture of the Applicant on the 9th day of March 2024 by the 1st to the 5th Respondents and his detention from the 9th March 2024 to the 10th March 2024 by the Respondents is unlawful, illegal, oppressive, unconstitutional, null, void and a violation of his fundamental right.
Speaking on the development, Obi, who is a rights activist, said the government will continue to attract unnecessary legal action and compensation demands if such abuse of office and high-handedness by government officials are not checked.
Obi cited another incident of late last year, where operatives of the same SASA invaded a commercial tricyclists’ park at UNIZIK Tempsite-Awka, beat up operatives, and destroyed over 11 tricycles, noting that to date nothing has been said or done about the inhuman action against legitimate operators.
“Even after the State Deputy Governor, Dr Nkem Okeke visited the park and saw everything that happened, did he not brief the governor? Even if he did not brief the governor, what did he himself do?
“These were legitimate keke operators doing their legitimate businesses with no record of touting, yet the SASA operatives brutalized them and destroyed the windscreen of their keke.
“Nobody was held responsible for that action and that is why we are seeing a repeat of such an ugly incident,” he said.
Obi regretted the silence of the government on all the cases of infractions against citizens, saying it does not say well about the intentions of the government.
“It is worrisome to note that nothing has been said by government about all these issues.
“Who brutalized Mgbilimgba? Is Mgbilimgba a tout? Is he a convicted criminal?
“These are answers the government has yet to provide.
“What usually happens is that the government believes that once this kind of thing happens, they give it a little time and it fizzles out without any tangible action.
“What is inevitable is the people’s imminent retaliation if this continues,” Obi said.
