The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA ) called on President Muhammadu Buhari to address Nigerians on the trending story of China setting up a Police Station in Benin City, Nigeria.

“Nigerians must be adequately informed in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act of 2015. Also Section 22 of the Nigerian Constitution obliges government to provide information to the media of mass communications. We just read about this China Police Station in Nigeria and we wondered if Nigeria has a Police Station in China,” HURIWA said in a statement by uts National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, on Wednesday, October 19, 2022.

“Should it be true that Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari has permitted China to set up a Police Station within Nigeria's Sovereign territorial jurisdiction, then it is a gross breach of our sovereignty of Nigeria,” Onwubiko added.

According to him, “It is a high treason for such an aggressive compromise and sabotage of the internal national security of Nigeria to be sold out. But for Mr. President’s constitutional immunity from prosecution as enshrined under section 308 of the Constitution of Nigeria, we in HURIWA would have sued the in his personal capacity, if this rumor happened to be true.”

However, the group said it was hopeful that other patriotic non-governmental bodies would challenge this illegality of a blatant infraction of our sovereignty in the competent court of law. “We may however be heading to court should our Trustee reach a determination quickly,” it warned.

However, the action of China setting up a Police Station in Nigeria violates section 214 (1) of the 1999 constitution which states thus: "There shall be a police force for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force, and subject to the provisions of this section no other police force shall be established for the Federation or any part thereof.

“We are, by this statement, calling on Nigerians to defend the people’s ownership of our sovereignty of Nigeria because the sovereignty of Nigeria belongs to Nigerians.

"Specifically, Section 14(2-A) of the Nigerian Constitution states thus:- "Sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives all its powers and authority."

HURIWA noted that the issue is that allowing another country to operate a Police Station in Nigeria means that Nigerian government has transferred an aspect of Nigerian sovereignty to another sovereignty which must be resisted.

HURIWA recalled a media report that the Chinese government has purportedly established Police Stations in Nigeria and over 20 other countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa, in what could be seen as a massive campaign to combat the growing cases of fraud and telecommunication crimes by Chinese nationals living abroad.

This is contained in an investigative report titled, “110 Overseas: Chinese Transnational Policing Gone Wild.”

The Chinese Police Station known as “Service Station” is located in Benin City in Nigeria and in two other countries in Africa, including Maseru in Lesotho, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

"Others include 35 service stations in 16 European countries, 10 service stations in six American countries and five service stations in five Asian countries."

According to an investigation report by Safeguard Defender, the Chinese authorities claimed that from April 2021 to July 2022, 230,000 nationals had been “persuaded to return” to face criminal proceedings in China.

HURIWA stated that “this action is a step towards the full re-colonisation of Nigeria by China, most probably because of the dubious loans obtained illegally by the President Buhari-led federal government, including the USD 2 billion that was used to build a railway station in Niger Republic, another Country entirely."

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