The rights groups while demanding an in-depth investigation into the matter, called on the military authorities to caution Sergeant Peter Atuluku.
Human rights organisations under the umbrella of the South-East/South-South Civil Society Forum have condemned in very strong terms the alleged torture and unlawful detention of a Rivers-based activist, Remi Izuchukwu.
Izuchukwu was arrested on August 31, 2022, by soldiers of the Nigerian Army stationed at the Oyigbo-Express junction, on the Port Harcourt-Aba Expressway.
The rights groups while demanding an in-depth investigation into the matter, called on the military authorities to caution Sergeant Peter Atuluku.
The groups also called for the immediate dismantling of roadblocks by soldiers to allow for human and vehicle movements on the highway which has “impacted negatively on businesses and lives of residents of the area”.
Speaking on behalf of the civil society groups after a meeting with the Location Business and Traders Association, Tombari Dumka-Kote, Chairman, Rivers Indigenous NGOs and Civil Society Network (RINGOCS)/Founder, Centre for Justice, Empowerment & Development (C4J), said the soldiers acted beyond their powers by assaulting, torturing and illegally detaining the activist.
He said the activists had only demanded the unconditional release of some innocent young men randomly arrested and detained by military men. According to him, the military men had tagged the men as internet fraudsters, also called ‘Yahoo Boys’, just to extort money from them.
Dumka-Kote regretted that security agents who are paid with taxpayers’ money to protect ordinary citizens from criminals have resorted to harassment of innocent citizens, intimidation of customers and business owners, and extortion of money from residents of the area despite the bleak economic situation in the country.
The groups noted that security personnel are deployed to maintain law and order and not to resort to extortion of money from citizens, and becoming a threat to business concerns.
Therefore, the groups called on the “General Officer Commanding (GOC), 2 Artillery Brigade, Bori Camp, Port Harcourt, to not only withdraw and replace Sergeant Peter Atuluku and his team but to investigate the matter and dish out appropriate discipline to serve as a deterrent to others”.
The statement noted that Izuchukwu, State Deputy Director, Behind Bars Human Rights Foundation, narrated how his customers had called that they were being held by some military personnel at the Oyigbo express roundabout for no just cause.
Izuchukwu had also reportedly narrated how upon getting to the military personnel, their leader, Sergeant Atuluku walked to him and slapped him after introducing himself.
Allegedly, the soldiers subsequently ordered that Izuchukwu should be stripped naked and detained in a shop seized from a trader and used as a cell by the soldiers.
He told newsmen how upon the intervention of other business owners, Atuluku extorted the sum of N54,000 from them, as the “N600,000 per person the soldiers earlier demanded from the young men he had gone to rescue was no longer feasible”.
Also reacting to the development, Chief Ntu Ndu, who is the Chairman of Oyigbo Traders Association, Express chapter, said since the #EndSARS protest of October 2020 ended, soldiers have taken over almost 75 percent of business premises and shops in the Oyigbo express area.
Ndu noted that while the traders are not asking law enforcement agents not to do their job, security personnel should also allow businesses to thrive in the area.
He said the total blockage of the only motorable road available to the Oyigbo business community has taken a toll on the survival of businesses and residents alike.
“To the best of our knowledge in recent times, the Army officers have resorted to extorting money from passers-by, tagging them ‘Yahoo boys’ and having a personal cell close to them, which has resulted in a standstill on the economy of the Oyigbo express and the area in general to a standstill,” he said.
The meeting was attended by leaders of 13 civil society organisations and representatives of all categories of business owners in the Oyigbo Local Government Area.