Counsel to the Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly,
Barrister Bello Olisa Nwafor has raised alarm over the continued detention of
his client (Chidi Lloyd) that was allegedly blindfolded shortly after his
arrival to Port Harcourt from the Force Headquarters of the Nigerian Police,
Abuja today.
He expressed fears that the continued blindfolding and detention
of Chidi Lloyd by the police was emphatically dangerous to his health and life
while in custody.
“Because of my client’s information constantly to me that he was
detained at the force headquarters above the one-day that was allowed. Chidi Lloyd was flown into Port Harcourt today, and instead of
bringing him to court, after he was detained. The Police would have brought him to court to defend himself,
because keeping him back is dangerous as we found, he was blindfolded. And, we don’t know what is happening to him, there is fear for his
life, genuine fear.
Barrister Nwafor also called on the Rivers State Police Command to
be transparent in their actions of taking his client (Chidi Lloyd) to court to
enable him express his fundamental rights.
“If the Police have nothing to hide, they would have brought Chidi
Lloyd to court this morning. He is still not brought to
court till about 5pm, and you know that, even an armed robber is brought to
court with a black maria, why won’t he (Chidi) be brought to court. If he is brought to court, then, we pray that he should be alive”, Nwafor said.
He reminded the police and the defendant counsel that the Chief
Justice of the Federation has made rules that paves way for concurrent
jurisdiction over fundamental rights application, urging the court to grant his
client the right to appear in court to defend himself when granted bail.
On his part, counsel to the defendant, Donald Chuka has argued
that the court should jettison the immunity of the (lawmaker), Chidi Lloyd for
the police to commence investigation on him, which the court has not granted.
Reacting to the continued detention of Hon. Chidi Lloyd and the
alleged blindfolding of the lawmaker by the police in Rivers State, the Deputy
Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon (Barr) Leyii Kwanee has joined
other well-meaning Nigerians to criticize the delay by the police in bringing
his colleague to court to enable him express his fundamental rights.
Hon. Kwanee equally expressed fears that the handcuff and torture
of his colleague Chidi Lloyd poses a dangerous signal in a democratic dispensation
as he is considered innocent until a competent court proves him otherwise.
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