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"August 8, 2013 The Inspector General of Police The Nigeria Police Force Headquarters Abuja Dear Sir, URGENT APPEAL FOR YOUR INTERVENTION TO PROTECT THE RIGHTS TO DIGNITY, LIFE AND FAIR TRIAL OF MR. BONAVENTURE MOKWE CURRENTLY DETAINED INCOMMUNICADO AT THE SARS, AWKUZU, ANAMBRA STATE POLICE COMMAND, UNDER CSP NWAFOR. Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN) is a network of 46 civil society organizations spread across Nigeria and committed to promoting police accountability and respect for human rights. It was established in 2000 to provide opportunity for civil society input in police reform and theenhancement of safety, security and justice. NOPRIN requests you to urgently intervene in the continued detention, incommunicado, of Mr. Bonaventure Mokwe at the dreaded Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) Awkuzu Anambra State since Thursday August4, 2013. He has till date been denied access to his family and legal representatives. NOPRIN is seriously concerned about the complaint of the arbitrary detention of the victim under inhuman conditions in utter violation of his constitutionally guaranteed rights to liberty, dignity of the humanperson, presumption of innocence and other due process safeguards. NOPRIN is further outraged by the information that about eight hours after Mr. Bonaventure Mokwe’s arrest, his hotel - Upper Class Hotel, Onitsha, Anambra State located at No 8, Old Market Road, Onitsha was demolished through the executive fiat and orders of Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State. Mr. Mokwe’s arrest and the subsequent demolition of his hotel are said to be in connection with the allegation that security agents recovered two human skulls in his now illegally demolished hotel. His family expresses grave fears over his safety. NOPRIN has been informed as follows: 1. That on Thursday the 1st of August,at about 11am, Mr. Bonaventure Mokwe was arrested by police officers from Police Area Command, Onitsha in his office at Upper Class Hotel Onitsha. He was accused of being a ritualist. 2. That the police displayed two dry human skulls and an Ak47 assault rifle which they claimed to have recovered in one of the rooms in the 22-room hotel. 3. That the particullar room in question was on the 1st floor of the three-floor hotel; a room that was regularly used by lodgers and had been occupied by different lodgers at different times during the week. 4. That soon after his arrest, the police officers went to the Ministry ofJustice, Onitsha where they also arrested his wife Mrs. Nkiru Mokwe who is Chief State Counsel. The couplewas taken to Anambra State SARS headquarters at Awkuzu and denied access to both legal counsel and family members. 5. That his wife, Mrs. Nkiru Mokwe, was released after about 12 hours, while he - Mr. Bonaventure Mokwe - remained in the custody of SARS. 6. That at about 7pm of the same day, the Upper Class Hotel - a propertybuilt in 1971 by Mr. Bonaventure Mokwe’s father, Mr. G C Mokwe, was completely demolished and reduced to rubbles with bulldozers on the orders of Anambra State Governor Mr.Peter Obi. 7. That since that Thursday of arrest till date, the SARS Commander at Awkuzu CSP Nwafor has refused to permit the detained Bonaventure Mokwe’s Counsel and his family members access to him. 8. That the family is gravely concerned about his safety and fear that he may be undergoing torture and faces the risk of being killed extra-judicially. 9. That the family is baffled that a democratically-elected governor could, by sheer executive fiat, order the demolition of the hotel on the same day the arrests were made without any court order and without forensic investigations of the hotel which was the alleged crime scene. 10. That the family also finds it curious that the other rooms in the 24-room hotel were not searched; the police came into the hotel and went straight to a particular room on the first floor which had been open to lodgers. 11. That it is basic intelligence to expect that if one is in possession of illegal firearms, it would be hidden in a secure place not somewhere accessible to hotel guests. 12. That the police at SARS, Anambra claimed they recovered fresh human heads dripping with blood but what they displayed to the press were two old dry skulls which could have been dug up from anywhere. They need to tell the public where exactly the freshheads are at the moment! 13. That it is the family’s expectation that the police would follow due process from the arrest up to the prosecution if they believe they have crediblle evidence to sustain any charge against the accused. A person accused of a crime is entitled to be presumed innocent, allowed access tofamily and legal representatives, and allowed opportunity of a fair trial by a competent court. 14. That a situation where the crime scene was looted under the watchful eyes of the police and then later destroyed; and a situation where another property belonging to Mr. Bonaventure Mokwe in another area was also looted while the state security watched and the tenants ordered to vacate the building because there is an order to destroy all his assets without any court trial isa classical case of jungle justice. 15. That considering that this is the same state where 32 dead bodies of people strongly believed to be victimsof extrajudicial killing were found floating in Ezu Rriver shows the state of lawlessness and insecurity of lives and property prevailing in Anambra State. 16. That Mr. Bonaventure has been involved in land speculation and has some issues with some of his associates and one of them threatened to smuggle in a corpse to the hotel in order to incriminate him. 17. That the SARS commander CSP Nwafor, who is believed to be acting at the behest - and in the interest - of the suspected masterminds of this frame-up, has threatened to deal ruthlessly with Mr. Bonaventure Mokwe. 18. That the OC SARS is notorious for shooting or ordeeing the shooting of suspects in the leg and leaving them to bleed to death. 19. That the OC SARS claims that thereare a lot of graves he has dug up to prove that Mr. Bonaventure is a ritualist. He needs to show these graves to the media and interested civil society groups in the state. He needs to produce witnesses to his digging-up of the graves. 20. That although Anambra State is under siege by violent criminals, destroying people's property over some skulls obviously planted there and subjecting people to inhuman treatment do not constitute crime fighting. 21. That beyond this case, the police authorities should urgently investigate into the operations and activities of SARS in Anambra state because the commander Mr Nwafor iscompletely out of control. 22. Sir, NOPRIN beleives that the actions of the OC SARS Awkuzu and his officers are in gross violation of the right to due process and an affront on the rule of law. 23. The presumption of innocence is the foundation of Police investigation. Through investigation, the Police gather evidence with which to rebut the presumption in specific cases. However, in this case, the police in detaining Mr. Bonaventure Mokwe beyond the legally permissible duration and denying him access to his family and legal representativeshave clearly exhibited bias and violated his right to be presumed innocent until provenguilty by a law court of competent jurisdiction, among other due processsafeguards. 24. The Nigerian Constitution contains, among other guarantees, rights to life, liberty, fair hearing and due process; prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and gives victims of human rights violations a right of access to courts for redress and remedies. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, which makes the African Charter part of Nigeria’s domestic law, reinforces these human rights guarantees whichare essential for effective policing. In particular, both the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter guarantee the presumption of innocence and prohibit torture. 25. The detention of Mr. Bonaventure Mokwe at SARS, Awkuzu, Anambra State since Thursday the 4th of August, 2013 - a period beyond the maximum of 48 hours permitted under the constitution for the detention of a suspect violates his fundamental rights guaranteed underthe constitution and other regional and international treaties and conventions to which Nigeria is a party. 26. NOPRIN further condemns the demolition of the accused person’s property on the orders of the governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, without recourse to legal proceeding. 27. This singular act of arbitrary exercise of executive powers by Governor Peter Obi will further embolden the police to continue in their lawless approach to law enforcement such as extrajudicial killing of suspects. 28. The right to fair trial is an essential right in all countries respecting the rule of law. The right to a fair trial is a norm of international human rights law designed to protect individuals from the unlawful and arbitrary curtailment or deprivation of other basic rights and freedoms, the most prominent of which are the right to life and liberty of the person. It is guaranteed under Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) - which Nigeria has ratified, and which provides that “everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law.” The fundamental importance ofthis right is illustrated not only by theextensive body of interpretation it has generated but, most recently, by a proposal to include it in the non-derogable rights provided for in Article 4(2) of the ICCPR. The right to a fair trial is applicable to both the determination of an individual’s rights and duties in a suit at law and with respect to the determination of any criminal charge against him or her. NOPRIN requests you to call the OC SARS, Awkuzu, Anambra State - CSP Nwafor - to order and prevail on him to comply with the law in the treatment of accused persons in SARS custody. He should ensure full respect for Mr. Bonaventure Mokwe's human rights and either release him or charge him to court without further delay. Okechukwu Nwanguma Program and Advocacy Coordinator Network on Police Reform (NOPRIN)" 7 minutes ago