By CHARLES AHUMIBE

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has warned Professor Charles Chukwuma of Anambra state to refrain from making the same mistake the former Governor, Chinweoke Mbadinuju?s made from 1999 to 2002.

The group called on Soludo to strictly go after suspected violent criminals, their sponsors and criminal properties across the State within the ambit of the law and due process and drastically reduce fatality rates involving those alleged to have offended violent aspect of the criminal law who must lawfully be apprehended and procedurally processed.

They also suggested that to freed and compensated those properly investigated and found uninvolved or falsely labeled or framed over vested business or political interests; or under other questionable circumstances.

They stated that the present Anambra State must further be reminded that there are strict circumstances under which armed state and sub-state actors can kill such as strictly when they are under gun attacks which must be strictly guided by the principles of use of force and proportionality of the same.

According to the group, It is globally unlawful and expressly amounts to crimes against humanity or unlawful killings and executions to shoot and kill unarmed citizens irrespective of the gravity of offense alleged to have been committed by them; just as it is expressly a war crime to take a surrendered combatant into custody and turn around to kill him or her.

This was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by Chinwe Umeche Esquire,Head, Democracy and good governance program,Chidinma Evangeline Udegbunam Esquire,Head, Campaign and public, Obianuju Joy lgboeli Esquire, Head, Civil liberties and Rule of law; and Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman.

The statement reads: "It is also dangerously unlawful to use indiscriminate killings, abductions and disappearances as a measurement of law enforcement successes or provision of security as well as promotion of gallantry or recording of government achievements.

?Labeling unarmed citizens with phantom allegations of ?being kidnappers or ritualists?, leading to their killings outside the law and levying unprecedented violence against their properties is a height of internationally prohibited acts or atrocity-conducts.

?Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo as Governor of Anambra State should therefore refrain from re-assembling ?Bakassi Boys Henchmen? whose atrocious acts caused the downfall of ?his senior academic expert colleague in office? (Associate Professor Chinweoke Mbadinuju) including the gruesome murder of the duo of Barrister Barnabas Igwe, then respected Chairman of NBA, Onitsha Branch and his beloved pregnant wife, Barrister Amaka (AB Girl) Igwe, among dozens of notable political figures and thousands of innocent members of the public.

?Then Onitsha NBA Chairman and his beloved wife were murdered along Orafite Street, Awada in Idemmili North Local Government Area of the State on 1st Sept 2002, leading to police crackdown and disbandment of the atrocious outfit by Federal Government of Nigeria in later weeks of the same moth and the same year.

?Their gruesome murder was remotely traced to the outspokenness of the fiery Lawyer against dwindling state of governance in the State during the Mbadinuju?s inglorious epoch-including grisly and egregious rights abuses and violations and disrespect to sanctity of human life; and non-payment of public teachers? remunerations, forcing public schools across the State to shutdown for the whole academic year.

?Several local and international human rights groups and activists including Comrade Emeka Umeagbalasi (now Criminologist and Leader of the Intersociety) and then Chair of CLO, Anambra State Branch, Comrade Damian Ugwu of then National CLO Headquarters, fiery and highly respected Barr Chuka obele-Chuka, then Vice Chair of NBA, Onitsha Branch, Comrade Aloysius Attah (now Chair, CLO, South-East), Comrade (now) Barr Justus Uche Ijeoma and their numerous local and foreign associates had documented several cases of gross rights abuses by the atrocious ?Bakassi Boys? and their henchmen; to the extent that the throat of an unidentified young citizen was sliced and his head and body severed meters away from the Anambra Government House at Awka and in the presence of a group of international human rights and media activists and leaders of their delegation.

?Apart from having spotted and sensed the return of some of ?the Bakassi Boys Henchmen? in the present Government of Anambra State, the atrocious patterns and trends trailing their inglorious epoch including false labeling, trial by ordeal, hearsay conclusions and other forms of jungle justice have resurfaced; to the extent that using the above highlighted, no fewer than 40 persons have been killed outside the law and at least 30 properties worth billions of naira unlawfully razed down in less than one month; contrary to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and Nigeria?s acceded Human rights Treaty Laws. No fewer than ten traditional religious sanctuaries including two located at Okija have also been razed and their priests arrested or abducted and placed at high risk of imminent disappearance. Also, tens of thousands of others including pastors and prophets have been threatened.

?As a prided ?Human Rights Governor? that set up in June 2022 ?Anambra Truth, Justice and Peace Commission: ?who also dines and wines with? Human Rights colossus? in the like of Prof Chidi Amsalem Odinkalu, a respected prof of human rights law and former Chair of Nigeria?s National Human Rights Commission; Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo as Governor of Anambra State should steer clear of the remnants of Bakassi Boys and their inglorious epoch and avoid re-assembling in theory or in practice their atrocious militia activities and persons.

?This is more so when digital evolution has sufficiently provided answers to insecurity and unsafety problems including evolution and availability of ?Man-Mental-Machine? policing; effective and efficient for modern criminal investigation and digital security (. i.e., tracking, monitoring and surveillance devices) that aid modern crime prevention and detection and criminal investigation and prosecution.

?Charles Soludo as ?a professor Governor? and ?Human Rights/Political Activist?, is long expected to have renamed ?Oraifite Street in Awada, near Onitsha, Anambra State after the slain two respected Barristers at Law and in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force High Command; converted the notorious ?Awkuzu SARS Headquarters (now State CID Annex) in Oyi Local Government Area into the ?State-of-Art? Police Criminal Investigation Annex? with capacity to serve the Entire South-East. The Facility should also be renamed ?Barnabas and Amaka Igwe Police Forensic Headquarters, Awkuzu?. Such move will go a long way in justifying the public expenditure of billions of naira worth of ?the Governor?s Security Votes? and truly showcase Prof Charles Soludo as ?Professorial and Human Rights Gov?.

?Such renamed ?State-of-Art? Police Forensic Facility should not only transform detection and prevention of violent crimes and criminal investigation and prosecution in Anambra State and beyond but also digitalize the entire process and weed out most of the butchery and barbarous police personnel manning the notorious facility and have them replaced with ICT and digital geniuses ICT-compliant officers and personnel of the Nigeria Police Criminal and Intelligence Departments and injection of ?contract personnel? composed of ICT and Digital Wizards with logic and critical thinking mental skills. The Facility, if renamed and well digitalized, could also serve as ?Anambra Digital Security Tracking Headquarters? and provide the best services and facilities in the areas of criminal pathologies, criminalistics, victimology, criminal ballistics, crime labs and libraries, etc.?

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