Handling of Kuti’s case unprofessional
…Activist knocks police, court
By Ifeoma Ikem
SEUN KUTI– Youth Rights Campaign, YRC, leader, Francis Nwapa, has advocated the systemic overhaul of the arms of government for unprofessional and illegal acts, in order to save the country from collapse.
He made the call in a chat with Saharaweekly, on the back of the release of embattled Nigerian singer, Seun Kuti, on bail over alleged assault of a policeman in Lagos.
According to Nwapa, a close scrutiny of the Kuti case had exposed shortcomings of the judiciary and executive in particular, following various “illegal actions and impunity” by the police with active connivance of court official.
Listing the illegal and unprofessional conduct of the police, the youth activist said, “After bail conditions had been met, the police were not pressing any charges, only applying for continued extension of (Kuti’s) custody, not releasing him. Are the police above the law?”
“Rather, they said they were investigating. For over seven days, they searched his house, car, phones, even attempted illegally to draw blood from him,” he added.
The youth activist accused the judiciary of surrendering its will to the impunity of Nigeria police. “Imagine, the chief magistrate was taking orders from the CP. Throughout the judiciary acted as an appendage of the executive. She gave Seun bail and withdrew same; even allowed police illegally bring Seun back to the court without contacting his lawyers.”
Nwapa noted that the illegal and unprofessional conduct of the police stems from the fact that “they are not originally designed to protect the people. They were designed to protect the ruling elite. Or how do you explain over 40 per cent of them busy protecting VIPs all-around,” he queried.
In his view, the issue is beyond police reform.
We need a systemic change of this capitalist government that continues to subject the masses to poverty, he stressed.
If not, Nwapa argued, Nigeria will continue to have police brutality, misery, ASUU strikes, bad roads, and hospitals that are not working.
He therefore called on the Nigerian populace to join hands to defeat the negative system.
