. Ask FG, UN, AU, US, UK to intervene over alleged disappearance of youths
Boniface Okoro in Umuahia
The coalition of independent lawyers in the South-east region last Sunday decried what they called years of prolonged and secret detention of youths allegedly arrested during security operations in the region, saying that they should produce them in court or free them.
Addressing journalists in Umuahia, the legal practitioners working with human rights group, Fiat Justicia Juris, said families have been left in agony with no information on the whereabouts or condition of their relatives for years.
Reading the statement, the lead counsel, Mr. Olusegun Adekoya, said the group was acting on the instructions of Mazi Chris Nwaogu, the head of the Directorate of State of IPOB, insisting also that their intervention was anchored on the constitution and the rule of law, not politics.
The lawyers declared that: “Detention must not become a substitute for trial.
“Produce them. Charge those against whom admissible evidence exists. Try them before competent civilian courts. Release those against whom there is none.”
The team raised the alarm over allegations that suspects arrested in the Southeast are being transferred to distant military detention facilities, including the Wawa facility in Niger State, and held indefinitely without arraignment.
They argued that the proscription of IPOB does not suspend the constitutional rights of individual Nigerians. According to them, an allegation of association with a proscribed group cannot justify indefinite detention without due process.
The lawyers said the human cost is already being felt by families. They cited the case of Mrs. Calista Ifedi, who they said has been in detention since 2021 over alleged IPOB links, and was later reported to have died in custody.
They demanded that her remains be released to her family and that the circumstances of her death be investigated.
To strengthen their case, the legal team announced plans to compile a comprehensive register of missing persons based on affidavits from families. The document, they said, would be submitted to the United Nations, African Union, European Union, the United States, United Kingdom, and other international human rights bodies.
“We are calling on the international community to pay closer attention to allegations of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and unlawful killings in the Southeast,” Adekoya said.
The lawyers acknowledged that insecurity must be tackled, and commended security agencies for the recent operation in St. Joseph Catholic Church, Inoyi-Affa, Udi LGA, Enugu State, where worshippers were abducted but later rescued and suspects arrested.
They, however, asked why such cases proceeded to investigation and prosecution, while others allegedly involving IPOB suspects remain in detention for years without trial, adding: “Security and justice must reinforce each other, not compete.”
The coalition also said it would present photographic evidence, medical reports and testimonies from families and survivors at a subsequent briefing.
According to them, “The grieving families want to know where their relatives are, whether they are alive, and where evidence exists against them, when they will finally face trial.”
The team said it is preparing further legal and accountability proceedings against relevant federal security institutions, stressing that their goal is not revenge but justice and accountability under the law.