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Friday, 26 July 2013

Rivers Assembly Crisis: Chidi Lloyd Blind Folded And Tortured



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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