Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has asked
the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. MD
Abubakar, to ensure the immediate release
from unlawful detention of Mrs. Clara
Chime, the First Lady of Enugu State who is
being held hostage at Government House
Enugu by Governor Sullivan Chime, or be
dragged to court.
In a letter dated November 1, 2013, Mr.
Falana, representing Mrs. Chime, pointed
out that his client has been kept
incommunicado in solitary confinement for
over four months on the directives of
Governor Chime.
“Thus our client’s fundamental rights to the
dignity of her person, personal liberty, fair
hearing, private and family life and freedom of
movement guaranteed by the Constitution and the
African Charter on Human and People’s Rights
(Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the
Federation of Nigeria 2004 have been violated
without any legal justification,” it said.
“Although our client’s dehumanizing detention
conditions have had deleterious effects on her
psychological state as well as her mental and
physical health she has been denied access to
her doctors by her abductors,” the petition said.
“It is particularly disturbing to note that some of
the police and state security service personnel
assigned to secure the safety of the Enugu State
governor, his wife and other family members
have aided and abetted Mr. Chime in subjecting
our client to egregious infringements of her
aforesaid fundamental rights.”
It pointed out, however, that unlike the governor
who is currently immune from prosecution under
the constitution, the police and state security
service officials involved in the illegal arrest and
detention of Mrs. Chime ought to be sanctioned
under the relevant laws.
In a letter exclusively published by
SaharaReporters on October 28, Mrs. Chime
complained that Governor Chime had placed her
under house arrest, and begged human rights
bodies to come to her rescue.
She said that eminent personalities such as
President and Mrs. Goodluck Jonathan and the
Bishop Callistus Onaga of Enugu State and other
top priests had attempted to intervene in the
matter without success.
Among other things, Mrs. Chime said she had
been introduced to two psychiatrists, Dr.
Onwukwe and Dr. Agumo, who prescribed “all
kinds of drugs that ends up keeping me acute
depressed and also drives me into
hallucinations.”
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