Chioma Okoli is being prosecuted by the Nigeria Police Force and Erisco Foods Limited over a review of one of the company’s products that she did on Facebook.
A human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, has slammed the Nigeria Police Force over the report that the Inspector General of Police Monitoring Unit wrote to the Controller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, asking her to place Chioma Okoli on the watchlist.
Chioma Okoli is being prosecuted by the Nigeria Police Force and Erisco Foods Limited over a review of one of the company’s products that she did on Facebook.
SaharaReporters reported earlier that the Inspector General of Police, in a letter to the Immigration Controller General, Kemi Nandap, requested that Chioma should be placed on watchlist and denied exit out of the country.
In the letter exclusively obtained from a highly placed source in the IGP Monitoring Unit in Abuja which was signed by A.A. Elleman DCP, Head, IGP Monitoring Unit of Force Headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force, the police boss urged the NIS to arrest her if seen and inform the IGP Monitoring Unit.
It noted that Okoli is being investigated for a case of “criminal conspiracy, de-marketing, blackmail, attempted extortion, and cyberbullying”.
But reacting to the letter requesting that his client, Chioma Okoli, should be placed on the watchlist, Effiong questioned whether the IGP is serving the public interest in the case or an individual interest.
Effiong, who revealed that Chioma's case will again come up in court on April 18, 2024, however, described how the Nigeria Police Force and the IGP Monitoring Unit have handled the case from the outset as despicable and oppressive.
He said, "I am not surprised by this development given the utterly despicable and oppressive antics that the Nigeria Police Force and the IGP Monitoring Unit have deployed in this case from the outset.
"It is quite pathetic and shameful that the office of the Inspector General of Police has been reduced to this embarrassing level just to massage the insatiable ego of Chief Eric Umeofia. We wonder whether the IGP is serving public interest in this case or individual interest."
He said the request made by the IGP is not only unconstitutional but amounts to a flagrant disregard of the court.
He said, "Section 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) guarantees every citizen of Nigeria the right to freedom of movement. The Section further guarantees that no person shall be denied exit from Nigeria.
"By virtue of Section 36 of the Immigration Act Chapter 11 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, a person can only be prohibited from departing from Nigeria by the Nigeria Immigration Service if there is a directive by the Minister of Interior or if there is a penalty imposed on the person by a court which has not been satisfied or if there is a warrant of arrest issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.
"In the instant case, my client is not serving any penalty imposed on her by any court and no warrant of arrest has been issued against her by the Federal High Court where she has been charged. Also, the request did not emanate from the Minister of Interior.
"From what you have told me, they are claiming that they want my client to be placed on the Watch List because they are investigating her. This is a lie because the police had long concluded investigation and charged her before the Federal High Court in Abuja since 5th October, 2023. This shows that the motive for their request to the Immigration is sinister, malicious and based on falsehood.
"The summary is that this request by the IGP Monitoring Unit is blatantly illegal and amounts to a usurpation of the authority of the Honourable Court. It is quite alarming that the police instead of going to court to prove their charges, is resorting to vengeful victimization of Chioma Okoli.
"Nigerians and the international community should now know that if anything untoward happens to my client, the Inspector General of Police, the IGP Monitoring Unit and Erisco Foods Limited will be held responsible."
He explained that Chioma is not a terrorist, and therefore, not responsible for the current economic hardship that the country is going through.
"My client is ready and willing to stand trial in court and is not perturbed by whatever case the police think they’re pursuing in court. Placing her on Watch List in the circumstance is an abuse of power and a gross violation of her fundamental right," he added.