Human rights organisation, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has called for an immediate release of a journalist and online blogger, Precious Eze who was allegedly “kidnapped” in Lagos residence by members of the Special Police Taskforce from Abuja on Tuesday last week.
RULAAC described the unlawful seizure and detention of Eze for five days without disclosure of his whereabouts as criminal and arbitrary.
It warned that law enforcement and security agents should not act like kidnappers or act in other lawless ways that undermine the rule of law, noting that it breeds anarchy and self-help.
RULAAC in a statement by its Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, decried that media practitioners in Nigeria had been hounded by security agencies who were often acting at the behest of politicians or influential individuals against the constitutional provisions that guarantee freedom of speech and that empowered journalists to hold politicians accountable.
Noting that the whereabouts of Eze had remained unknown five days after his arrest, RULAAC appealed to any security formation holding him if they have any credible cause to arrest him, disclose the same, and follow legally established procedures for the treatment of suspects of crime.
The statement partly read: “RULAAC has received information about what appears like abduction of Precious Eze, an Online Publisher and Journalist by individuals who stormed his Lagos residence on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at about 1:24 am and simply identified themselves as ‘members of a Special Police Taskforce from Abuja.’
“During the operation, the ‘task force’ operatives confiscated Precious’ laptop, phones, and other devices from his residence.
“A friend of his who was with him and witnessed as he was being taken away offered to accompany them, but the operatives declined, and ‘assured him that Precious would contact him in the morning to provide information about his whereabouts’.”
It added, “Five days later, nothing has been heard from Precious or anyone else about his whereabouts, or the reason for his being taken away. All attempts by his family and colleagues to reach him or unravel his whereabouts and ascertain the reason for his being taken away, have all been abortive. His family and colleagues are seriously concerned about his safety.”
Quoting one of the relatives, the group said “Our concerns are heightened as Precious is known to be hypertensive and is on medication. There is uncertainty about his well-being” wherever he may be held, incommunicado.”
“It is not clear if those who took him are security or law enforcement officials. But if they are, it goes against the grains of professional law enforcement standards and due process to seize and take a person away in such a crude manner, without proper identification, and without informing the person and his relatives about the reason for arrest and where the person was being taken to.
“A person arrested for any recognizable offense is entitled to due process safeguards including being accorded the right of access to family and legal representation.
“In the case of the Police, the Police Act (2020) mandates the Inspector-General of Police to facilitate access to legal support to all persons at police stations. The Administration of Criminal Justice Act (2015) requires that a person being arrested must be informed of his offense at the point of arrest and must be allowed access to family members and legal representation. Family members of arrested persons should also be informed about the arrest of their members.
“Precious is known to be a Blogger. Bloggers and other media practitioners continue to face harassment in the hands of security agencies often acting at the behest of politicians or influential individuals. Attacks on journalists and media freedom must be brought to an end and journalists allowed to discharge their constitutional mandate.
“Law enforcement and security agents should not act like kidnappers or act in other lawless ways that undermine the rule of law.
“RULAAC calls on whichever agency that may have seized and continues to hold Precious hostage, incommunicado, to release him forthwith. If they have any credible cause to arrest him, disclose same and follow legally established procedures for the treatment of suspects of crime.”
