Simeon Mpamugoh
The Nigerian Navy has released Lt Commander Sherrifat Lambert and 13 crew members allegedly arrested and detained unlawfully.
Briefing newsmen at the Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG) Ilupeju Lagos, on Monday, the executive director, Campaign Against Impunity,comrade Shina Loremikan said, whereas the detainees were hurriedly charged to court by the Navy and asked the Economic and Finance Crime Commission (EFCC) to take over, the commission had kept on seeking for adjournments under the pretext of studying the casefile.
He claimed that almost every sitting in court was conducted by a new counsel. He alleged that the detainees were held, tortured and ill-treated to extract information from them.
“This regressing human conduct negates decent means of investigation,protection and promotion of human rights of suspects. It gives us, rights activists cause for concern and we cannot keep mute against injustice,” he vows.
He described the act as a manifest, and outright violation of the constitution.
Loremikan told journalists that despite the released of Lt Commander Lambert, the Nigeria Navy has refused to release her husband Captain Dada Labinjo and his crew members despite a court order urging the naval authorities to release and reinstate him.
He said, “It is worrisome that an organ of the state that is supposed to live by example for other institutions to follow has made it a habit to disobey valid court order. It has instead shown flagrant disobedience to lawful court order.
“Apart from Captain Labinjo, the families of the crew members in detention have suffered untold hardship because their husbands have been unjustly incarcerated since September last year,” he claimed.