Falana to FG: Direct police, navy to publish names of all detainees

Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, has asked the federal government to direct all security agencies in Nigeria to publish the names of all detainees and their places of detention.

He also asked that the police and other security forces be prohibited from subjecting Nigerians to any form of incommunicado detention.

Falana had earlier threatened to sue the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for failing to sanction the Nigerian navy for the “illegal detention of 67 persons”.

In a statement on Sunday, the human rights lawyer said family members of most of the detainees feel they had been abducted and killed by hardened kidnappers since they were arrested by armed and masked naval officials.

He cited the case of one Miss Grace Inyang as a “pathetic” one whom he alleged has been in detention for about 295 days without being told the criminal offence she committed or allowed to contact her relatives.

“Last week, we submitted a petition to the National Human Rights Commission wherein we complained about the illegal and prolonged detention of 67 Nigerians by the authorities of the Nigerian Navy,” he said.

“Following the publication of the contents of the said petition by the media, a number of the family members and friends of the majority of the detainees have reached out to us.

“Since the detainees were arrested by armed and masked naval personnel in mufti without any warrant of arrest and incarcerated incommunicado it was thought by many family members that the detainees had been abducted and killed by hardened kidnappers.

“The most pathetic case is that of Ms Grace Inyang who was arrested in Port Harcourt, Rivers State by masked naval personnel on October 27, 2018.

“She was driven to Abuja and dumped in an underground cell at the detention facility of the Defence Intelligence Agency. She was however transferred to the NNS Beecroft detention centre at Apapa, Lagos last week for further incarceration.

“Even though the lady has spent 295 days in detention the detaining authorities have not informed her of any criminal offence allegedly committed by her. Neither has she been allowed to communicate with her relatives.

“The 56 men in the same detention facility at Apapa have been abandoned by the detaining authorities! Similarly, no one has attended to the other 10 citizens who have been detained inside a vessel in Marina, Lagos for the past 13 months.

“We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to direct all detaining authorities in Nigeria to publish the names of all detainees and their places of detention and prohibit the Police and other security forces from subjecting Nigerians to any form of incommunicado detention.”

He, however, said the detainees should be transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) if there are evidence that they have commited any crimes.

“By not notifying the family members and relatives of the detainees of their arrest and places of detention the authorities of the Nigerian Navy have wilfully violated section 6 (2) (b) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 which has imposed a duty on all detaining authorities to notify the next of kin or relative of every suspect of the arrest at no cost to the suspect,” Falana said.

“It is pertinent to note that the authorities of the Nigerian Navy have also continued to ignore court orders for the unconditional release of 15 out of 67 detainees including Navy Captain Dada Labinjo being detained at the underground cell of the Defence Intelligence Agency at Abuja.

“The illegality of the detention of the 67 people is compounded by the fact that the authorities of the Nigerian Navy have no powers under the Armed Forces Act to detain persons who are not subject to service law.

“However, if there is evidence that they have committed economic crimes they should be transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to prosecute them.”