The party asked the police boss to desist from further interfering with the judicial process and focus on the daunting task of eradicating crime in the state.
The Lagos State chapter of the African Action Congress has accused the Commissioner of Police in the state, Hakeem Odumosu, of working closely with some judicial officers to frustrate the release of the 30 #RevolutionNow activists illegally arrested, gravely tortured and detained in Lagos during the October 1 peaceful protest that held across the country.
AAC in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Elias Ozikpu, said Odumosu cannot be a Police Commissioner and a judge at the same time.
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The party asked the police boss to desist from further interfering with the judicial process and focus on the daunting task of eradicating crime in the state.
The statement reads, “The Lagos State branch of the African Action Congress has reliably gathered that the Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Hakeem Odumosu, is working in cahoots with some unscrupulous judicial officers to frustrate the release of the 30 #RevolutionNow activists who were illegally arrested, gravely tortured and detained in Lagos during the October 1 peaceful protest that held across the country to demand good governance from the sadistic reign of the Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s maximum ruler.
“The protesters were arraigned on October 2 at the Magistrate Court, Yaba, following trumped-up charges that were concocted against them. But despite having been granted bail and all conditions attached to the bail bond fulfilled, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police Hakeem Odumosu has been working clandestinely with some judicial officers in the state to frustrate the release of the protesters from illegal custody. They have done this by manufacturing several bureaucratic twists to justify the continuous detention of the activists.
“Whilst it is clear that dictator Buhari may have indeed groomed baby Pharaohs to follow his own steps of flouting or interfering with the judicial process, it is our sustained stance that we shall resist such desperate manipulation of the judiciary in Lagos. Hakeem Odumosu should desist from further interfering with the judicial process and focus on the daunting task of eradicating crime in the state; a task he has woefully failed to accomplish so far as Lagos remains the crime capital of Nigeria. His attempt to use #RevolutionNow protesters to earn a pass-mark from his bosses will be met with unrestrained resistance. Odumosu cannot fail in his own office and hope to excel elsewhere.
“We call on the presiding magistrate in this case to staunchly defend the sanctity of the judiciary in accordance with her oath of office by signing the bail documents without further delay. The judiciary should never allow itself to be used as a tool for repression and oppression by politically exposed persons, their servants, cronies, et al. The judiciary as an independent organ of government is under the statutory obligation to act impartially, fairly and in accordance with democratic principles without pandering to the wishes of some corrupt officials whose stock in trade is the violation of citizens’ fundamental rights.
“We must immediately remind the Lagos State Judiciary, particularly the magistrate in charge of this matter that it was the incumbent Chief Justice of Nigeria Tanko Muhammad who asserted as follows: The rule of law must be obeyed in all our dealings and we must impress it on the government at all levels to actively toe the path. The right of every citizen against any form of oppression and impunity must be jealously guarded and protected with the legal tools at our disposal.
“We therefore condemn in totality the continuous incarceration of the 30 #RevolutionNow activists and demand their immediate release from illegal custody.”