A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has called on the Attorneys-General of Niger and Ondo States to prosecute those allegedly responsible for the deaths of scores of Nigerians in two separate incidents.
In a statement made available to journalists on Sunday, Falana asked the Niger State Attorney-General, Nasiru Mu’azu, to ensure a speedy investigation into the deaths of 37 suspects who were detained by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, over alleged illegal mining.
The suspects were reportedly found dead at a detention facility in Niger State, two days after their arrest.
The NSCDC had said more than 50 people were arrested and were undergoing profiling and documentation.
Falana attributed the deaths to overcrowding and poor ventilation, and called for the prosecution of any persons found culpable.
He also called on authorities to ensure that detention facilities comply with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, popularly known as the Nelson Mandela Rules.
The senior lawyer drew a parallel with the 1980 incident in Lagos, when 50 suspects reportedly suffocated inside a police transport van at the premises of the Tinubu Magistrate Court.
In a separate case, Falana urged the Ondo State Attorney-General, Olukayode Ajulo, SAN, to prosecute those linked to the deaths arising from a mass illness outbreak allegedly associated with locally prepared alcoholic and herbal concoctions.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, had confirmed 48 deaths out of 182 reported cases.
The agency also reported that five people had been rendered totally blind, while two others suffered partial blindness.
NAFDAC said the affected communities include New Town, Odole, Okele, Orita Odigbo, Araromi-Obu and Oniparaga, with the highest number of cases recorded in Odigbo and Araromi-Obu.
The agency also disclosed that 15 people had been arrested over the production, sale and distribution of the suspected poisonous beverages.
Falana is now asking the Ondo State Ministry of Justice to take over the case and prosecute anyone found responsible.
He says criminal accountability must accompany investigations into both incidents, while authorities must also take steps to prevent similar deaths in detention facilities and communities.
See full statement below
ATTORNEYS-GENERAL OF NIGER AND ONDO STATES SHOULD PROSECUTE SUSPECTS RESPONSIBLE FOR MASS MURDER OF SCORES OF CITIZENS
(i) KILLING OF 37 SUSPECTS IN NCSDC IN NIGER STATE
On Tuesday last week, a group of young men were arrested by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for alleged illegal mining in a village near Borgu in Niger State. Two days later, 37 suspects were found dead inside the detention centre where they were kept by the NSCDC, apparently because of overcrowding and poor ventilation inside the detention facility.
The spokesperson of the NSDDC, Babawale Afolabi has confirmed that more than 50 people had been arrested but have not been charged because profiling and documentation were still under way. However, we call on the Attorney-General of Niger State, Nasiru Mu’azu Esq. to ensre a speedy investigation by the State Police Command and immediate prosecution of all indicted suspects by the State Ministry of Justice.
The tragic incident is a sad reminder of the case of the 50 criminal suspects who were locked up inside a police transport van, otherwise known as “Black Maria” and suffocated to death in the premises of the Tinubu Magistrate Court in Lagos State in 1980. Notwithstanding the unfortunate incident, law enforcement agencies have continued to detain lowly placed suspects in overcrowded cells in detention facilities throughout the country. Unlike rich suspects that are briefly kept behind counters or offices in police stations and in the “White House” in each correctional centre, the flotsam and the jetsam in the society are held in overcrowded cells without ventilation. In the instant case, governments and members of the public are only outraged because 37 suspects died in one fell swoop.
The official outrage is indeed hypocritical because the death of suspects in dehumanizing incarceration in police stations and other detention facilities in the country is a regular phenomenon. Therefore, the best way to honour the 37 suspects that were suffocated to death last week is to ensure that detention centres in the country meet the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the Nelson Mandela Rules.
(Ii) KILLING OF 48 PEOPLE IN ONDO STATE IN MASS ILLNESS OUTBREAK
Last week, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) confirmed 48 deaths out of 182 reported cases in a mass illness outbreak linked to the consumption of suspected locally prepared alcoholic and herbal concoctions in parts of Ondo State. NAFDAC said five people had been rendered totally blind while two others suffered partial blindness following the consumption of the suspected beverages.
According to NAFDAC, the affected communities include New Town, Odole, Okele, Orita Odigbo, Araromi-Obu and Oniparaga, with the highest number of cases recorded in Odigbo Town and Araromi-Obu, both in the Odigbo Local Government Area of the state. The agency said the incident has also spread beyond Odigbo Local Government Area to the Irele Local Government Area, while noting that the figures remain subject to ongoing verification.
Although NAFDAC said 15 people have been arrested. in connection with the production, sale and distribution of the poisonous beverages, the Attorney-General of Ondo State, Dr. Olukayode Ajulo SAN should take over the case with a view to prosecuting the suspects.
Femi Falana SAN.
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