OPOROZA 10: MILITARY HAS NO POWER TO ARREST ANYBODY WITHOUT TRIAL – IYC

•Demands release of Muturu.

WARRI ~ The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide have accused the military of not having the power to arrest any Nigerian without trial including the fight against insurgency in the Niger Delta Region while alerting that the renewed insurgency should not be used as a yardstick to punish innocent people in the region.

This was contained in a Press Statement sent to Gbaramatu Voice Newspaper by the group’s spokesperson Barr. Eric Omare today.

The statement frowned and calls for the immediate release of the 10 youths of Oporoza Community in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State and ex -militant leader Mr. Aboy Francis Muturu that was also whisked away by the military at Bomadi, in Bomadi Local Government Area of the State.

Omare argued that Nigeria is operating a constitutional democracy hence, the actions of the military including the fight against insurgency should be done within the ambit of the law.

The statement reads in part:

“The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) worldwide demand for the immediate release of the ten youths from Gbaramatu Kingdom, Delta State who were arrested at Oporoza town during the military invasion of the community and ex-militant leader, Mr. Aboy Francis Muturu. These persons have been in military detention without trial. It is unconstitutional and unlawful for the military to arrest and dump people at their detention facilities without trial. Nigeria operates a constitutional democracy, hence actions of security agencies including the fight against insurgency in the Niger Delta region must be done within the ambit of the law.

“The IYC is in support of any legitimate fight against criminality in the Niger Delta region. However, such fight must be done within the ambit of the rule of law and respect for human rights. Anybody accused of an offence is presumed innocent until proved otherwise by the court. The military has no power to arrest anybody including the ten Gbaramatu youths, Mr. Francis Muturu and any other Nigerian without trial. The 10 youths from Gbaramtu Kingdom have been in detention for more than two months and in the case of Mr. Francis Muturu, his where about is unknown up till this moment since he was arrested by the military in the presence of his nursing wife on the 9th of June, 2016 at Bomadi town in Bomadi local government Area of Delta State.

“If the military has evidence of commission of crime against the Oporoza 10 and Mr. Francis Muturu, we demand that they should be charged to court and let the court determine their guilt or innocence. Otherwise, the IYC demand that they should be release without further delay. The fight against insurgency in the Niger Delta should not be used as a subterfuge to punish innocent people.”

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Copyright 2016 GbaramatVoice Newspaper. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www. gbaramatuvoicenews.com as the source.

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