admin
Your Excellency,
APPEAL FOR THE UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE OF MY BROTHER, UZOCHI AGBAKWURIBE, WHO WAS BRUTALISED WITH MACHETES AND DETAINED BY OFFICERS OF THE NDLEA ABOH MBAISE ZONAL COMMAND, ENYIOGUGU, FOR THE PAST 20 DAYS
I am Mr. Frank Agbakwuribe, a trader and native of Umueleri, Ogwu in
Aboh Mbaise LGA of Imo State.
May I most respectfully draw the attention of His Excellency to the
brutal, unlawful arrest and unjustified detention for the past 20 days of my
elder brother, Mr. Uzochi Agbakwuribe by officers of the Aboh-Mbaise Zonal
Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) under the command
of one Mrs Kemi.
My Brother was brutally arrested by these officers on Friday 18 October,
2019 for allegedly possessing a small quantity (150 grammes) of Indian
Hemp/Cannabis.
Your Excellency, as the Chief Law Officer of the State, is fully aware
that based on the combined provisions of Sections 34, 35 and 41 of the 1999
Constitution as amended and Articles 4, 5 and 6 of the African Charter of Human
and People Right, my brother is entitled to bail for the alleged simple
offence.
I also wish to draw the attention of His Excellency, to the fact that
the unjustified brutal arrest of my brother by officers under the command of
Mrs Kemi, which led to the deep mutilation of several sensitive parts of his
body with machetes and other hard objects, is crude, highly unprofessional and
also unlawful.
It is most unfortunate, howbeit inexplicable, that in spite of the fact that these officers were armed and greatly out-numbered my brother, his arrest ended up with deep life-threatening machete cuts all over his body. Making the arrest appear more like a case of attempted murder, rather than a mere arrest. It was expected that as experienced superior officers, Mrs Kemi and her officers, should be fully aware that the rules of engagement do not permit the use of arms and/or unreasonable force on an unarmed suspect.
I was reliably informed that when our Lawyer approached Mrs Kemi for our
brother’s bail so that he can be given adequate medical attention, she declined
stating that THE GOVERNOR GAVE HER STANDING ORDER TO DEAL WITH CRIMINALS AND
DRUG DEALERS IN THE AREA. Although, we may not deny the fact that Your
Excellency may have given such orders with the good intention of fighting
crime, yet we don’t believe Your Excellency would permit the barbaric practice
of butchering of suspects with machetes and or other hard objects.
We also know that Your Excellency will not support the inhuman practice
of detaining a seriously wounded suspect, instead of granting him bail in order
to seek adequate medical attention. Presently youths of our community are
growing restive with his continual detention, inspite of his precarious health
condition, induced by the deep machete cuts he recieved during his arrest. I
have reached my wits end in trying to prevent a breakdown of law and order in
the community.
Consequently, we humbly appeal to Your Excellency to order the immediate
release of my brother, while investigation is conducted as to the veracity of
the allegation against him.
A Surety is already waiting to take him on bail.
The Law is clear on this matter. A suspect is presumed innocent until
proven guilty and as such, is entitled to bail and the right to decent
treatment.
I am also requesting Your Excellency to order a through
investigation as to the unlawful, unprofessional and brutal method of
arrest applied by these officers, and sanction those found wanting. This is in
the interest of justice and also would serve as a deterrent to erring officers.
This act of savagery and lawlessness by officers of the NDLEA Aboh
Mbaise Zonal Command is totally against the spirit and letter of the
Rebuild Imo Government, which has come to rebuild and not to destroy. The
Mission of the NDLEA in Aboh Mbaise should be to maintain law and order, and
not to break the law and cause disorder.
In this regard, we look forward to Your Excellency’s swift
intervention in this matter before it gets out of hand.
Your Humble Subject,
Mr. Frank Agbakwuribe
08080808148 Liman Dexeris
She said “No machete was used during the arrest. The injuries on him were sustained during his resistance in the course of arrest. The suspect used his hands to break the front and back windscreens of the vehicle conveying him after the arrest. “The suspect, his brothers and youths from the community launched a mob attack on the NDLEA officers. He also bit the officers. We have the evidence. I did not stop the bail by the lawyer but I only told him that he should write an application for an administrative bail. Bail is a fundamental right of every suspect as provided by the law provides.”