Colleagues Kick As Police Summon Owerri Lawyer

Owerri subdivision of the Nigerian Bar Association has condemned what it described arsenic an effort to usage the constabulary to intimidate citizens for their dissenting views.

This came aft the constabulary invited an Owerri-based lawyer, Barr Chinedu Agu, a one-time caput of the relation aft the accusation commissioner, Hon Declan Emelumba, wrote a petition against him alleging transgression defamation and behaviour apt to origin a breach of the peace.”

Agu had engaged Emelumba successful a warfare of words aft the lawyer’s unfastened missive calling for the assignment of a main justice and betterment of the judicial strategy successful Imo State.

Secretary of NBA, Owerri branch, Daniel Odiba, made the disclosure successful a connection made disposable to LEADERSHIP Sunday.

They expressed heavy interest implicit the invitation of Agu to the X-Squad portion of the Imo State Police bid connected allegations of “criminal defamation” and “conduct apt to origin a breach of the peace.”

The NBA Owerri subdivision said they recognised the statutory powers of the Police to analyse complaints, but “strongly condemn immoderate attempt, nonstop oregon indirect, to usage the Police arsenic an instrumentality to gag, harass oregon intimidate citizens who are simply exercising their constitutionally guaranteed close to state of look nether Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

According to them, disapproval of government, its agencies oregon actors is not a crime, saying the deployment of authorities apparatus to stifle dissenting voices is inimical to ideology and the regularisation of law.

The lawyers warned that they would not hesitate to instrumentality each lawful steps to support the rights of their members and the larger civic space.

They further stated that the subdivision stands “firmly for the regularisation of instrumentality and the chairman, Chief Chris Ihentuge has directed a squad from the subdivision to show the process and guarantee that his cardinal rights are afloat respected arsenic helium honours the Police invitation.”

The lawyers called connected the Imo State Government and the Commissioner of Police to guarantee that the Police is not utilized arsenic a instrumentality to suppress escaped code oregon civic engagement.

Meanwhile, connected their part, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), has called connected Governor Hope Uzodimma to desist from persecution of the Owerri-based lawyer, Barr Chinedu Agu, for demanding accountability from the authorities government.

RULAAC made the telephone successful a connection by its enforcement director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, urging the Imo State Police bid to instantly discontinue the invitation and immoderate transgression proceedings against Barr. Chinedu Agu, arsenic they represent an maltreatment of process and a usurpation of his law rights.

He argued that Agu’s lone discourtesy was his “consistent, lawful, and constructive disapproval of governance successful Imo State – peculiarly connected issues of law compliance and the medication of justice”, saying “his advocacy, expressed done articles and nationalist commentary, falls squarely wrong the close to state of look guaranteed nether conception 39 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) and nonfiction 9 of the African Charter connected Human and Peoples’ Rights.”