By Endy NDULAKA, South-East Investigator Bureau-Chief
OWERRI– WIDESPREAD condemnations have continued to trail the invasion of St. Peter’s Anglica Church, Eziama in Imo State in the early hour of December 26, 2021 by gunmen who latter turned out to be policemen and abducted Chief Uche Nwosu.
The uncharitable manner by the gunmen (now policemen) who stormed the church shooting sporadically and later hauled the former lawmaker in the boot of their get-away vehicle and driven to unknown destination has drawn the err of many including a rights group, HURIWA; carpeting the Alkali Usman Baba-led police as having no regard for the body of Christ.
Following the manner of his abduction, news had gone to town that the in-law to the former Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State had been kidnapped by unknown gunmen.
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But hours later, the Imo State Police Command through its PRO, CSP Michael Abattam in a release, said Chief Nwosu was not kidnapped after all, stressing that the Police were aware of his abduction in church.
No reason has yet been given for the abduction (arrest) but the statement added that Chief Nwosu was safe in the custody of the police command.
The statement made available to CrimeWorld magazine online reads as follows: “This is to inform the general public that chief Uche Nwosu was not kidnapped but was arrested by the police and Imo state police command is aware of the arrest and presently he is in police custody.
“This is to refute the earlier news that has being making rounds on social media that he was kidnapped by unknown persons / gunmen.
“The Commissioner of Police while using this medium to assure imolites of the command’s commitment in ensuring the safety of Life and prosperity this yuletide seasons , adviced the general public to always shun fake news.”
But describing the manner of arrest of the former Governorship aspirant as highly barbaric and unconstitutional, the Human Rights Writers Association HURIWA said this was unbecoming of law enforcement officers under the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
It’s national coordinator, comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko said in a release that, “The method adopted by the police Violates the Nigerian Police Act of 2020 in which several provisions mandates the police to treat citizens with dignity and to respect their constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights as enshrined in chapter 4 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 as amended.
“HURIWA is saying that by this show of criminal brute force the police in Imo State have given life to the widespread allegations in many quarters that operatives of the security services in Imo State and other parts of South East of Nigeria may be responsible for the spate of targeted assassinations and kidnappings that have happened in the very recent time.
“HURIWA is asking the Police Service Commission to wake up from longstanding institutional slumber and near-death and investigate this assault to civility and the crude tactics of the Imo State police Command.”
Continuing, Comrade Nowubiko added, “The police headed by a Moslem Inspector-General has demonstrated total disregard to the Body of Christ which is an abomination and criminal act because Uche Nwosu is not someone the Imo State Police Command can not quietly invite to their station because he is a well known politician in Imo State guarded by policemen who goes in and out of the state from time to time and so we wonder why the police should throw their professional codes of conducts to the dogs and behaved like terrorists who were in the Church to kidnap the Worshippers.
“We therefore, condemn this criminal tendency by the Imo State police command and this has given credence to the report documented by Amnesty International in which the global human rights body accused the Imo State police Command of the use of extrajudicial executions of innocent citizens as their law enforcement tactics.
“This sort of unprovoked violence and primitive show of force by the Imo State police command is unconstitutional, illegal, despicable, treacherous and reprehensible and the commissioner of police must be sanctioned by the Police Service Commission just as the National Council of State should sanction the IGP who authorised this sort of terrorism in a Church filled to the brim with peaceful worshippers.
“This was why everyone in Nigeria believed that the shooters were kidnappers long before the police issued a tepid press Statement claiming to have arrested Uche Nwosu.
“The Imo State Police Command should blame themselves for creating the situation whereby members of the public panicked and scampered to safety; thinking that the armed hooded men were kidnappers who also shot sporadically just in the same way and methodology used by terrorists and kidnappers.”
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