Falana, Reps react to Melaye’s ordeal

A human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has frowned at the treatment being meted out on a Nigerian senator, Dino Melaye, by the Nigerian Police.

He said that what the senator is currently undergoing reflects the sufferings of ordinary Nigerians in the hands of security agents on a daily basis in the country.

According to Falana, that police could arraigned Melaye in court on a stretcher in Abuja and Kogi State on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, was unacceptable in civilized societies as it violates his fundamental human right.

The senior advocate stated this in a statement he made available to newsmen on Thursday, calling on the National Assembly to use the opportunity to call on the relevant agencies to turn a new leaf.

“The arraignment of Senator Dino Melaye on a stretcher in Abuja on Wednesday and Lokoja on Thursday morning is unacceptable in a civilised society. It is particularly degrading and humiliating as it violates the fundamental right to the dignity of his person guaranteed by Section 34 of the constitution and Section 7 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

“Even though the senator has my sympathy, it is indistinguishable that he has only been given a little dose of the humiliating treatment that is daily meted out to the flotsam and jetsam of our unjust society by the Nigeria Police Force and other law enforcement agencies in Nigeria,” he said.

He therefore called on the National Assembly not to treat Melaye’s ordeal in isolation but to consider other Nigerians suffering similar treatments.

“Therefore, the senator’s case should not be treated in isolation by the Senate and the bourgeois media. While the solidarity of the federal legislators with Senator Melaye is understandable, the tragic turn of events calls for sober reflection,” he added.

READ ALSO: WTTC 2018: Nigeria’s team thump Spain, to play Slovakia in Q’final

Those the activist would want the National Assembly to give equal attention regarding their ordeal in the hands of Nigerian security operatives to, include the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, and a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), who have both remained in custody for nearly three years despite several courts granting them bail.

This was even as the House of Representatives had also on Thursday issued stern warnings to security agencies, particularly the police, over Melaye’s life.

“All I can say at this point is that nothing must happen to Senator Melaye. If any law has been breached, the police must ensure that his life should be secured first,” Speaker Yakubu Dogara had said after a member from Kogi State, Mr. Karimi Sunday, raised a point of personal explanation on the floor to bring the “plight” of Melaye to the attention of members.

Gsent Talks.....Taking You Further