Human rights organisations under the auspices of Protect the Weak International Foundation and Centre for Human Rights Defence International have called for the release of a businessman and philanthropist, Kingsley Egemole, who soldiers arrested at the Ojo Army Barracks in Lagos on June 19, 2024.
The groups, who spoke through Comrade Chinonso Uba Nonsonkwa during a press briefing in Abuja yesterday, lamented that the Army authorities had denied his wife and lawyer access to him since his incarceration.
They appealed to President Bola Tinubu, the leadership of the National Assembly, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, the Imo State House of Assembly, the Ndi Imo and Ndi Orsu Local Government Area, among others to prevail on the Army authorities to order his release or charge him to court.
They said the detainee is a peaceful person who has been held “illegally and unjustly.”
“Mr Kingsley Egemole, a native of Umuhu Okabia in Orsu LGA of Imo State, but based in Lagos, is the chief executive officer of the Young Builders Construction Company in Akinsoji Street, off Igbobi Road, Fadeyi, Lagos.
“He is a father, a husband, and a person who assists the less privileged in his native community under his non-governmental organisation (NGO), Agbaedo Nkiti Foundation,” Nonsonkwa said.
He said Egemole’s trouble started when he advocated for a peaceful approach to ending the security situation in Orsu LGA. This did not go down well with those in charge of the security outfit in the area, who allegedly vowed to deal with him and filed a spurious complaint against him with the Army.
“We have voice recordings of several threats of arrest and blackmail against Egemole and evidence abound in voice and recorded calls of their threats to him, and they have accomplished it through his arrest by the Nigerian Army,” Nonsonkwa said.
He added that the groups would commence legal action against the military should it refuse to either charge him to court or release him to his family members.
“This act is against both local and international law. The Anti-Torture Act expressly criminalises acts of torture perpetrated by public officials.
The Administration of Criminal Justice Act and laws for states that have domesticated the same and the Evidence Act make inadmissible statements obtained from accused persons/defendants through torture,” the spokesman added.
The wife of the detainee, Mrs Ifeoma Jovita Egemole, lamented that since her husband’s arrest by military police personnel on June 19 at Ojo Military Barracks in his friend’s apartment, she had made frantic efforts to see him but was denied access by soldiers.
“I have been to Dodan Barracks in the company of our lawyer to see him but we were denied access and told that he is not allowed to receive visitors,” she lamented.
Lawyer to the family, Barrister Nnaemeka Ejiofor, said through his interactions with senior army officers, he learnt Egemole is being detained as a suspected member of the Indigenous People of Biafra/Eastern Security Network.
According to the lawyer, he met the Chief of Military Intelligence, Maj.-Gen. Bobby, as well as Brig.-Gen. Umar David and spoke on the phone with Brig.-Gen. T.B. Gbor on the issue.
The lawyer said he was interrogated by Generals Bobby and David, during which he presented audio recordings to show that his client was a peaceful person who faced a series of threats after proffering a peaceful solution to resolve the security situation in his local government area.
When contacted, the director of Army Public Relations Major General Onyema Nwachukwu said Egemole is being held for his involvement with IPOB activities.
We’ve got the edge. Get real-time reports, breaking scoops, and exclusive angles delivered straight to your phone. Don’t settle for stale news. Join LEADERSHIP NEWS on WhatsApp for 24/7 updates →
Join Our WhatsApp Channel
