Legal icon, Femi Falana, SAN, has written President Muhammadu Buhari to demand unconditional release of forty Nigerians unlawfully detained by the Nigerian Navy.
Falana, in the letter addressed to the president, dated 19 May, 2019, said there had been complaints from the family members of 40 Nigerian citizens who were being detained without trial on the orders of the Authorities of the Nigerian Navy.
He told the president that the detainees had been held incommunicado in dehumanising conditions for periods ranging from six to eight months.
“In fact, some of the detainees are incarcerated in an underground military detention facility in Abuja while others are held inside one of the vessels impounded by the Nigerian Navy in Marina, Lagos. The detainees have been subjected to mental, psychological and physical torture contrary to the provisions of the Anti Torture Act, 2017.
“Furthermore, in utter contempt of court, the authorities of the Nigerian Navy have defied valid and subsisting orders of competent courts for the unconditional release of some of the detainees. Apart from such contemptuous conduct, the Nigerian Navy recently denied knowledge of the whereabouts of the 15 detainees held in a detention facility in Abuja.
“As soon as we pointed out that the remand order procured by the Nigerian Navy for the detention of the 15 detainees had been quashed by the Chief Magistrate Court in Apapa, Lagos State, the Naval Authorities turned round to file criminal charges against 5 of them before a Court Martial,” he explained.
Falana stated that since all the detainees were entitled to their fundamental rights to dignity and liberty guaranteed by sections 34 and 35 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended and articles 5 and 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Ratification and Enforcement Act (Cap A9) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, he urged Buhari to direct the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, to either release the detainees from unlawful custody or arraign them in court without any further delay.
According to him, in view of the fact that the illegal detention of the 40 Nigerian citizens for several months without trial had exposed the Federal Government to unwarranted embarrassment, the Chief of Naval Staff ought to be sanctioned by the president.
Below are names of the detainees
1. Captain Dada Labinjo,
2. Lt. Commander Sherifat Ibe Lambert
3. Benjamin Gold
4. Peter Pulle,
5. Pius Paul,
6. Onoja Reuben,
7. Adeleke Adewale,
8. Labinjo Kehinde,
9. Ogunmoyero Oluwasehun,
10. Emmanuel Oputa,
11. Innocent Sunday,
12. Iejoro Friday,
13. Hamza Yakubu,
14. Segun Yusuf.
15. Master-Melvin Jack ;
16 Chief Mate-Adebayo Mayoma
17. Chief Mate- Francis Oneyema
18 2nd Eng-Godwill Umoh
19 Bosin-Miebaka Iyala
20 Elect 2-Edu Fidelis
21. Elect 2-Richard David
22 Camp Boss-Daniel Harrison
23. Asaiki Okeoghene
24 AB 1-Omogoye Bolaji
25 AB 2-Victor Uchendu
26 AB 3-Oloyede Ademola
27. Oiler-Simon Onyisi Mike
28. Eng cadet-Udom Victor Jerome
29 Godwin Etiaka Ojodusi
30. Sixtus Ganabel
31 Owei Ukuto
32 Jeremiah Victor
33 Collins Joel
34. Augustine Omonisa
35 MV Akemijo Deborah
36 Mike Simeon
37 Umoren Daniel
38 James Archibong
39 Umon Godswill Emmanuel
40. MT Adeline Jumbo
