Warri: Apologise To The Five Journalists Arrested, Detained Or Meet Us In Court, Rights Group Tells Police

By Daniel Dafe

A rights group based in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State, Centre for the Vulnerable & the Underprivileged (CENTREP), has called on the police to publicly apoogise to the five journalists arrested and detained in Warri without any formal charge by men of the SARS, IGP Squad at the Area Command Office, Warri for several hours, describing the action as unlawful, unconstitutional and a violation of their fundamental rights.
It will be recalled that on Tuesday evening, a team of men of the SARS, IGP Squad stormed the Press Centre of the Warri Correspondent Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and arrested the correspondent of Daily Post Online, Mr. Matthew Omonigho in connection with a search for the whereabouts of his colleague, Mr. Cletus Opukeme, a practising journalist and publisher of Daily Watch.
Mr. Matthew Omonigho was in the process assaulted by his abductors who tore his jeans trouser and cut his belt before taking him to the Area Command Office, Warri where he was detained.
Also, four journalists sent by the Chapel’s Chairman, Mr. Okies Veeky to secure his release were also detained and arrested, but all five of them were later released after an intervention by the Police Commissioner in the state, CP Hafiz Inuwa and others.
In a press statement signed by the Executive Chairman of CENTREP, Oghenejabor Ikimi on Thursday, the group said: “In line with CENTREP’s objectives of deepening our democracy and human rights culture in our polity, we have decided to take over the case of the five journalists by filing separate fundamental rights suits on their behalf against the Police at the High Court, Warri in a bid to defending and/or enforcing their fundamental rights.”
CENTREP called on the Police High Command to offer a public apology in all the national dallies to the said journalists in line with Section 35 Sub Section 6 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), adding that failure to do this will leave them with no option but to file separate fundamental rights suit in the High Court, Warri on behalf of all the said journalists against the police and claim damages at large and also make them apologise for the unlawful arrest and detention publicly.
CENTREP continued: “We believe that such a suit would teach the Police on how to be more professional and to respect human rights of the citizenry while discharging their statutory duties.”