A former commissioner in Imo State, Fabian Ihekweme, has taken legal action against the Nigerian Police, citing unlawful arrest and detention. Ihekweme, through his lawyer, Kingdom Okere, Esq, filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit on Monday before the Federal High Court in Abuja. The suit seeks an order for his immediate release following his arrest on November 28 in Abuja and subsequent detention at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Owerri without trial.
In the court filing, Ihekweme’s counsel urged the court to issue an order compelling the Nigerian Police Force Headquarters in Abuja and the Commissioner of Police in Imo State to either release him on bail or charge him to court. He referenced sections 35(4) & (5) and 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), which guarantee the right to personal liberty and fair hearing.
Additionally, Ihekweme is demanding N5 million as compensation for the “unlawful harassment, assault, arrest, detention, and persecution” he has suffered at the hands of the police.
Providing more insight into the incident, Ihekweme’s wife, Excel Ihekweme, described her husband’s arrest as resembling a “kidnap.” She explained that unidentified men apprehended him near their Abuja residence before transferring him to Owerri.
Excel suggested that the arrest might be politically motivated, noting that her husband had recently criticised the leadership style of Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma. She added that the fallout from this criticism contributed to her husbandâs removal from office.
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