A Non-Governmental Organization, NGO Concern Zaria Citizens has instituted legal action against the Nigeria Police Force, Commissioner of Police Kaduna State and two other respondents over the alleged illegal arrest and detention of two of its members.
The other respondents in the suits were ASP Akele and Prof. Tsware Jefferey, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT) Zaria.
The Spokesman of the group, Malam Mohammed Nasir, disclosed this while briefing newsmen on Monday in Zaria.
He said some time ago the group issued a petition against the Director General of NARICT via an open letter to the President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to him, the petition was hinged on the alleged over stay in office by the CEO of NARICT following the enactment of a new condition of service in 2019 among others.
He said Dr Ahmed Palladan and Malam Bashir Ibrahim who signed the letter were arrested by police and taken to Kaduna for interrogation following the open letter to the president.
Nasir said the group intimated its lawyers and instructed them to secure their release from the police.
He said the group, therefore, directed its lawyers to file a suit against the Nigeria Police Force, Commissioner of Police Kaduna State, Prof. Tsware Jeffrey and one other person.
“The Plaintiffs in the suite Dr. Ahmed Palladan and Malam Bashir Ibrahim had obtained an ex-parte order from Justice Kabir Dabo of High Court 1, Dogarawa Zaria.
“The order which was made available to newsmen was for an interim injunction restraining the defendants from taking further action in connection with the complaint lodged by the fourth respondent (NARICT Boss) pending the determination of the originating motion.
The court, therefore, fixed Aug. 22 for hearing the case filed by the group against the respondent,’’ he Nasir said.
However, Nasir lamented that the parties were served with the court order but insisted on arresting their members.
He said the Constitution had granted them the right of expression and that was what they did by the open letter to the President stressing that writing a petition was not abusing anybody.
According to him, their members are living in constant fear of arrest by the police under instruction of the NARICT CEO hence our case in the High Court Kaduna state.
When Contacted the Director General NARICT Prof. Jeffrey Barminas said he was constrained to speak on an issue pending before the court and pledged to address a press conference on the issue in a near future.
COV/ Ibrahim Suleiman