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Condemnation Trails Illegal Arrest, Detention Of Trader Over His Stolen Goods

Controversy and condemnation continue to trail the arrest and detention of one Benjamin Omanu, a trader at the popular Ogbeogonogo Market, in Asaba, the capital of Delta State, by the state commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC). The Nigerian Bar Association in the state has condemned Mr. Omanu’s detention.

Controversy and condemnation continue to trail the arrest and detention of one Benjamin Omanu, a trader at the popular Ogbeogonogo Market, in Asaba, the capital of Delta State, by the state commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC). The Nigerian Bar Association in the state has condemned Mr. Omanu’s detention.

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Last week, Mr. Omanu accused officials of the Delta State NSCDC of responsibility for thousands of naira worth of goods stolen from his store. He stated that the goods were stolen after a dispute he reportedly had with some men of the civil defense corps. He said the men had threatened to deal with him.
 
In a petition addressed to Olu Abolurin, the commandant-general of the NSCDC, Mr. Omanu accused Ms. Obiageli Obiajulu, the Delta State commandant of the corps, of ordering his arrest and detention in the NSCDC cell.
 
The trader, who has spent more than three days handcuffed in the NSCDC cell, spoke to our correspondent from detention. “My sin against the NSCDC was because in the past I had cautioned the officers at the market to desist from harassing and extorting money from innocent traders at the market,” he said, adding, “since then I have not known peace.”
 
He stated: “My goods were on several occasions seized. This made me to report the case to the state commandant, but I was disappointed because the matter was not amicably resolved. This paved the way for the officers to perfect their plans to terminate my business at the market which is my only means of livelihood.”
 
In his petition, Mr. Omanu appealed to the corps’ commandant-general to use his good offices to intervene in the matter. He alleged that a day before his thousands of naira worth of goods were stolen, leaving that of other traders, the market main gate that was usually open by 7 a.m. each day was seen open as early as  6:21 a.m.
 
“One of the NSCDC officials, simply identified as Mr. Duke, had earlier threatened to deal with me based on my complaint to the state commandant. Available information with me shows that this Mr. Duke was seen at night in the market a day before my goods were stolen. What was he doing in the market at that time when he had since been transferred out of the market?
 
Mr. Omanu pleaded with the commandant-general as well as the state commandant to order all the NSCDC officials on duty in the market to disclose the whereabouts of his goods.
 
Meanwhile the Asaba branch of the Nigerian Bar Association has expressed displeasure over the arrest and illegal detention of Mr. Omanu after the disappearance of his goods. The NBA’s secretary, Chukwumah Oseyenimi, condemned the arrest and detention, accusing the NSCDC of regular involvement in human rights abuses. He noted that “a lawyer was equally assaulted by this same command.”
 
Other traders, residents and sympathizers have also condemned the arrest and unlawful detention of Mr. Omanu after he suggested that NSCDC officials were behind the stealing of his goods.
 
Reacting to the developments, Mr. C.F. Egede, the corps public relations officer, said Mr. Omanu was arrested and detained after his refusal to honor an invitation by the command. He added that a suspect can only be handcuffed if he resists arrest.
 
Mr. Egede attributed the trader’s arrest and detention to his petition that was published in some national dailies where Mr. Omanu accused an officer of the command of stealing his goods.
 
In her reaction, Ms. Obiageli Obiajulu, who heads the corps in Delta State, said Mr. Omanu was detained because she wanted to hear his own side of the story in order to achieve a complete investigation. She explained that he had remained in the cell because her intelligence officers were at Ihiala in Anambra state and were not available as at the time Mr. Omanu was arrested.
 
At the time of filing this report, Mr. Omanu was still handcuffed and in detention.

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