The brutalization of a lawyer for performing her professional duties is unacceptable and must not be tolerated. “The erring officers who intimidated and brutalized WACOL staff should be fished out and brought to book to serve as deterrent,” says Angela Uwandu, the Head of Office, ASF France in Nigeria.
Avocats Sans Frontières France and partners condemn police brutality at WACOL office, call for investigation
Avocats Sans Frontières France/Lawyers Without Borders France (ASF France) and its partners strongly condemn the brutality by police officers from the Nigeria Police Area Command, Enugu on Women Aid Collective (WACOL) office in Enugu and the physical assault of their staff; Ibangah Goodness, Miss. Nneka Okwor and Ezeani on January 30, 2020. ASF France was informed that this unwarranted attack followed WACOL’s efforts to assist a rape victim to lodge a criminal complaint at the Police Area Command Enugu for investigation.
The brutalization of a lawyer for performing her professional duties is unacceptable and must not be tolerated.
“The erring officers who intimidated and brutalized WACOL staff should be fished out and brought to book to serve as deterrent,” says Angela Uwandu, the Head of Office, ASF France in Nigeria.
To this end, ASF France calls on the Inspector General of Police to investigate the unfortunate incident and illegal behavior of his officers to serve justice as well as reinstate the public’s confidence in the Nigerian Police. The rape incident reported at the Police Command Enugu should also be duly investigated with the aim of prosecuting the perpetrator and obtaining justice for the victim.
ASF France also calls on the Attorney General of the Federation to issue the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of the anti-torture Act 2017 to ensure prosecution of the Police officers of the Area Command Enugu who were involved in the dastardly deed under the Act.
Avocats Sans Frontières France is currently implementing the SAFE project in Nigeria in partnership with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Carmelite Prisoners’ Interest Organization (CAPIO) to address core Human Rights violations of extra judicial killings, torture, ill treatment and arbitrary detention by security agencies in Nigeria.
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For further enquiries please contact:
ASF France Communication Officer, Abuja,
Email: communication.nigeria@avocatssansfrontieres-france.org
Tel: (+234) 0701 328 6982
Angela UWANDU
Head of Office
Avocats Sans Frontières France/
Lawyers Without Borders France
756 Abubakar Usman Crescent, Jabi, Abuja,
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Email: office.nigeria@avocatssansfrontieres-france.org
Website: www.avocatssansfrontieres-france.org
Phone :+234 (0)901 958 6773
mobile: +234 (0)703 782 8203
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