"We request the IGP to order an investigation into the continued detention of Thaddeus Ikechukwu Ojokoh".
The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali, over the "wrong" parade of a man accused of killing five police officers in Imo State.
The man is said to be a member of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Background
Some gunmen, on 21 April, killed five police officers at a restaurant in Ulakwo, a community in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of the state.
The gunmen also killed a couple during the attack.
The police in the state, on 30 April, said they had arrested nine IPOB members who allegedly killed the officers and the couple. The police later paraded the suspects the same day.
The suspects who were paraded by the police included: Mathew Chukwuma, 48, Ikechukwu Ojokoh, 53, Charles Chilaka, 44, and Anthony Iwu, 50.
Others were: Damian Ibe, 50, Simon Iwuala, 31, Nwabueze Ahiwe, 47, and Paul Obali- all males.
RULAAC kicks
In the petition to the IGP on Monday signed by its Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, RULAAC said one of the suspects, Mr Ojokoh, was "wrongly" paraded.
The group contended that Mr Ojokoh could not have taken part in the killing of the officers because he was still in police detention at the time of the attack.
Mr Ojokoh, a tailor and father of five, was arrested by the police operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Tiger Base on 15 April, six days before the attack on the officers, RULAAC said in the petition.
The group said the suspect was arrested on the allegation of being a member of the IPOB and that his family considers the latest accusation against him as both "curious and ironic."
It said the recurring attacks on police facilities and killing of officers remain "unjustifiable" and that the attackers should be prosecuted in line with the law.
"However, parading a man for a crime committed while in police custody raises serious concerns and questions, and calls for a careful investigation to ensure that an innocent person is not accused wrongly or made to pay the price for a crime he did not commit," RULAAC said.
"We request the IGP to order an investigation into the continued detention of Thaddeus Ikechukwu Ojokoh and circumstances surrounding his being accused of being among those who carried out attack on police officers on a date he was still in police custody.
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"He should be released or charged to court if he has any case to answer. His family and legal representatives should also be allowed access to him," it urged.
Denial of guaranteed rights
RULAAC also drew the attention of the IGP to the attitude of police officers in the South-east who allegedly presume that anyone accused of being an IPOB member has "automatically lost their constitutionally guaranteed rights to due process."
The human rights group said the officers in the region should be reminded that there should be presumption of innocence of a suspect until otherwise proven guilty in a fair trial in line with the law.
"This is a very dangerous attitude that has led to the murder of many innocent citizens. The constitution guarantees every person arrested for a recognisable offense the right to fair trial," the group stated.
"Summary executions and extrajudicial killings amount to murder and can have ugly repercussions including creating a cycle of violence."
