Activist lawyer condemns police over arrest of Dele Farotimi

Human rights lawyer and activist, Maduabuchi Idam, has criticized the Nigerian Police Pressure following the arrest of fellow authorized practitioner, Dele Farotimi.

Farotimi was detained by officers from the Zone 2 Command in Lagos in reference to a defamation petition filed by Tony Elumelu, Chairman of the United Financial institution for Africa (UBA) Group.

The arrest got here a day after Farotimi expressed considerations about alleged threats to his life from influential political figures. Reacting to the incident, Idam accused the police of prioritizing civil disputes over urgent safety challenges.

In a strongly worded assertion, Idam mentioned:

“It’s curious to search out that the Nigeria Police is much less busy even with the duty of combating the myriads of safety challenges wrestling with defenceless residents of Nigeria.“The arrest of Mr. Dele Farotimi over an alleged libel which is an apparent civil improper is moderately a affirmation that the Nigeria police is unbothered with the safety challenges in Nigeria.”

Idam argued that people aggrieved in civil issues, comparable to defamation, ought to search redress in courtroom moderately than involving regulation enforcement. He cited a number of Supreme Court docket rulings that warn towards using the police in civil disputes.

He additional known as on the Inspector General of Police to focus the pressure’s efforts on tackling crime and defending lives and property, moderately than being drawn into contractual disagreements or civil wrongs.

“Using police in settlement of civil wrongs shouldn’t be solely primitive however antithetical to civility,” Idam concluded.