“This is not only condemnable but regrettable. Rivers State Police Command under Mbu seems not to be bothered by the fact that any evidence that is obtained by force, torture, intimidation or by any form of abuse is not admissible in the court of law, and this is unfortunate.”
Chidi Llyod has since been facing a panel of police interrogators and
was flown to Port Harcourt on Friday ostensibly for the commencement of
his trial and the hearing of the suit he filed to restrain the police
from inviting and arresting him.
The day ended without the police arraigning him in court or the suit being heard, his lawyers, friends and associates having waited for several hours in court.
He told the state High Court, presided over by Justice Esor Teetito, which is hearing Lloyd’s suit that the continued blindfolding and detention of his client is dangerous to his health and life.
He appealed to the court to make an interim order for his release pending the hearing of the motions before the court. Mr. Nwaofor wondered why the police failed to bring Lloyd to court on the suit filed by him.
His words: “The applicant was brought from Abuja this morning (Friday) by the police blindfolded and now being detained at the Police Officers’ Mess here in Port Harcourt.
“Based on the rules governing fundamental human rights, the court should make an interim order for his temporary release pending the decision on the suit. This is necessary because the safety of my client cannot be guaranteed in the hands of the police.
The day ended without the police arraigning him in court or the suit being heard, his lawyers, friends and associates having waited for several hours in court.
He told the state High Court, presided over by Justice Esor Teetito, which is hearing Lloyd’s suit that the continued blindfolding and detention of his client is dangerous to his health and life.
He appealed to the court to make an interim order for his release pending the hearing of the motions before the court. Mr. Nwaofor wondered why the police failed to bring Lloyd to court on the suit filed by him.
His words: “The applicant was brought from Abuja this morning (Friday) by the police blindfolded and now being detained at the Police Officers’ Mess here in Port Harcourt.
“Based on the rules governing fundamental human rights, the court should make an interim order for his temporary release pending the decision on the suit. This is necessary because the safety of my client cannot be guaranteed in the hands of the police.
You are aware of what is happening now. Anything can happen before next week.”
A member of Lloyd’s legal team, Mr. Emenike Ebete, who accompanied the detainee to Port Harcourt from Abuja threw light on Lloyd’s ordeal.
Speaking to reporters at the end of the court’s sitting, Mr. Ebete said: “We reported to the IGP on Tuesday. We held a meeting with the IG and the DIG. My client, Chidi Lloyd, turned himself over to the police at the Force Headquarters.
“They treated us with respect.We were with them for about four days, and they did their investigation. Late yesterday (Thursday) we were told that he would be charged to court this morning (Friday) and we left Abuja as early as 7am. By 8.45am, we landed at the Air Force base, Port Harcourt.
“Thereafter, there was a signal that the place was not safe, and that we should hold on. That was when I started smelling rat.We waited for over two hours, after which we were asked to go.
“Over 500 policemen in their Hilux vehicles and Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) were all over the place. At a point when we started moving, we stopped for over 30 minutes; they said they were waiting for another vehicle.
“At the end of the day, we got to the office of the state Commissioner of Police, Mbu J. Mbu. My client emerged from the Black Maria. He was brought in with a black blindfold, as if he is a common criminal. He walked into the CP’s office, and they spent about three minutes. The CP then drove off to where God knows.
“Later we went to the Police Officers’ Mess where we were waiting for his charge sheet to be prepared, so he could be brought to court. Since 12noon, we have been waiting. Till now, that charge has not been filed.
“What that means is that they are going to keep him there throughout the weekend. I am not even sure if they will even charge him to court on Monday.
“What that means now is that he will remain in their custody, exposed to all sorts of inhuman treatment. His life is even in danger. We are not sure if he is going to survive because this place is not safe for him.
“I am calling on everybody to know that our client (Chidi Lloyd) is in the hands of Rivers State Police Command unsafe.
“We brought him from Abuja to be charged today (Friday); his charges are ready. The prosecutor came with us from Abuja. Uptill now 5:10pm, the charge has not been filed.
“I smell rat, not from the Force Headquarters, but here in Rivers State Command.
“We are calling on Rivers people to know that this is what is happening in the state now. If tomorrow Chidi Lloyd is no more there, the police should be held responsible.
“Abuja Headquarters treated him with respect; he was never brutalized there. It was only when we came here that the whole event changed.”
Asked why the police chose to focus on Lloyd, Ebete said:
A member of Lloyd’s legal team, Mr. Emenike Ebete, who accompanied the detainee to Port Harcourt from Abuja threw light on Lloyd’s ordeal.
Speaking to reporters at the end of the court’s sitting, Mr. Ebete said: “We reported to the IGP on Tuesday. We held a meeting with the IG and the DIG. My client, Chidi Lloyd, turned himself over to the police at the Force Headquarters.
“They treated us with respect.We were with them for about four days, and they did their investigation. Late yesterday (Thursday) we were told that he would be charged to court this morning (Friday) and we left Abuja as early as 7am. By 8.45am, we landed at the Air Force base, Port Harcourt.
“Thereafter, there was a signal that the place was not safe, and that we should hold on. That was when I started smelling rat.We waited for over two hours, after which we were asked to go.
“Over 500 policemen in their Hilux vehicles and Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) were all over the place. At a point when we started moving, we stopped for over 30 minutes; they said they were waiting for another vehicle.
“At the end of the day, we got to the office of the state Commissioner of Police, Mbu J. Mbu. My client emerged from the Black Maria. He was brought in with a black blindfold, as if he is a common criminal. He walked into the CP’s office, and they spent about three minutes. The CP then drove off to where God knows.
“Later we went to the Police Officers’ Mess where we were waiting for his charge sheet to be prepared, so he could be brought to court. Since 12noon, we have been waiting. Till now, that charge has not been filed.
“What that means is that they are going to keep him there throughout the weekend. I am not even sure if they will even charge him to court on Monday.
“What that means now is that he will remain in their custody, exposed to all sorts of inhuman treatment. His life is even in danger. We are not sure if he is going to survive because this place is not safe for him.
“I am calling on everybody to know that our client (Chidi Lloyd) is in the hands of Rivers State Police Command unsafe.
“We brought him from Abuja to be charged today (Friday); his charges are ready. The prosecutor came with us from Abuja. Uptill now 5:10pm, the charge has not been filed.
“I smell rat, not from the Force Headquarters, but here in Rivers State Command.
“We are calling on Rivers people to know that this is what is happening in the state now. If tomorrow Chidi Lloyd is no more there, the police should be held responsible.
“Abuja Headquarters treated him with respect; he was never brutalized there. It was only when we came here that the whole event changed.”
Asked why the police chose to focus on Lloyd, Ebete said:
“In the entire fracas, he was the only person invited, and he appeared there (Force Headquarters) and made his statement.
“What happened there at the House is a bailable offence; it is simple assault which the police could even grant bail at the station. Why is it that this one is generating a lot of tension? It is not murder. So why is it that his own is different more so when it happened on the floor of the House?“
The judge has adjourned the matter till August 6 for ruling on the two motions before it.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Hon. Dakuku Peterside, has condemned the alleged torture by the police in Rivers State of Lloyd.
Hon Peterside claimed that the detainee “has been consistently abused by hitting, battering, pushing, kicking, handcuffing and uttering of obscenities, thereby demeaning him all in a bid to coerce and compel him to obtain an involuntary extra-judicial confessional statement.
“This torture sadly is taking place at the Rivers State Police Command.
“For the records, let us state that section 34(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, prohibits this crude and barbaric conduct of Commissioner of Police of Rivers State as every citizen of this country is entitled to respect for his human dignity and Mbu does not have unbridled power to deprive any citizen of this constitutionally guaranteed right, especially in a democracy."
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