…warns EFCC, army against impunity, unlawful detentions
Colonel Nicholas Ashinze
A judge at Abuja High Court, sitting in Jabi has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Nigerian Army (NA), to release a serving Colonel Nicholas Ashinze who was Military Assistant to former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.
Colonel Ashinze who was detained before resuming his new posting as Defence Attaché in Germany, has been in detention since December 23, 2015.
In a judgment today, Justice Yusuf Haliru, directed the respondents to immediately release the applicant on self-recognition, saying his detention for over three months without trial, was “illegal, wrongful, unlawful and constituted a blatant violation of the fundamental rights of the applicant.”
The court also ordered immediate release of documents and items the anti-graft agency seized from the house of the applicant.
Justice Haliru who cautioned the EFCC and the Army which he said acted as if Nigeria was still under military dictatorship said: “The EFCC is a creation of the law. The court will not allow it to act as if it is above the law. It is remarkable to note that the motto of the EFCC is that nobody is above the law, yet they are acting as if they are above the law.
“The EFCC Act is not superior to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The respondents in this matter have not behaved as if we are in a civilised society. They have behaved as if we are in a military dictatorship where they arrest and release persons at will.”
The judge said the constitution stipulated that any person so detained should be charged to court within reasonable time not exceeding two months from the date of arrest.
Justice Haliru stressed that under section 36 of the 1999 constitution, as amended, an accused person is deemed innocent until his …Read More
Source:: PM Newspaper
