Three lawyers expected to appear before an Electoral Petitions Tribunal in Port Harcourt, Rivers State were reportedly arrested on Saturday over alleged possession of forged electoral materials. This is as human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana calls for their immediate release.
The lawyers, Jerry Aondo, Dr. Sobere Nelson, and Odum Eyiba, are allegedly lawyers to the All Progressives Congress (APC) who are billed to appear for the party and its governorship candidate before the tribunal on Monday.
They are currently been held at the Police Intelligence and Surveillance Unit, Ogunabali by Mkt Square, to transferred to State CID. According to reports, they will be arraigned before a Magistrate Court on Monday. Seized items from them include laptops and exhibits required for their petition defence, such as agent’s copy of form EC8 m, CTC of INEC documents.
Falana have however called for their immediate release. “I have just confirmed that the police will drag the detained lawyers to a Magistrate Court on Monday, April 3, and charge them with the forgery of electoral materials. The primary purpose of the latest display of naked power is to frustrate the opposition from filing an election petition against the rigging and violence that marred the March 18 governorship election in Rivers State;
Since there is no legal justification for the arrest and detention of the lawyers, we are compelled to call on the Inspector-General of Police to order their immediate release. The Rivers State Commissioner of Police should publicly apologise to the lawyers;
Those who claim to have won the governorship election in Rivers State must be prepared to defend their mandate without any intimidation or harassment of lawyers and witnesses”, he said.
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