Falana To Press For Prosecution Of Correctional Officers Who Inflicted “Brutal Torture” On Inibehe Effiong
A constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has condemned what he described as “brutal torture” inflicted on Inibehe Effiong, a lawyer jailed by the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State.
Mr Effiong last month was sentenced to one month imprisonment for contempt of court by the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State, Justice Ekaette Ekaette Obot.
In a statement titled “Brutal Torture Meted Out To Inibehe Effiong By Nigerian Correctional Service Is Unacceptable”, Mr. Falana on Thursday said Mr. Effiong’s fundamental human rights had been violently violated and vowed to prosecute the officials who inflicted torture on the lawyer.
He maintained that “the egregious infringement of the fundamental right of Inibehe to the dignity of his person and fair hearing” shall be challenged in court.
He disclosed that the penalty for the offence of inflicting torture on any person in Nigeria is 25 years imprisonment without any option of fine.
Narrating the ordeals of the young lawyer in the custody of the correctional centre in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Falana recalled that on July 27, 2022, the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State, Justice Ekaette Ekaette Obot convicted and sentenced Inibehe Effiong to one month imprisonment for contempt of court in facie curiae.
He noted that in order to prevent Inibehe from appealing against the conviction and sentence imposed on him, “the Chief Judge has refused to furnish him with a certified true copy of her judgment in contravention of section 36(7) of the Constitution which prescribes that every convict is entitled to a copy of the judgment of the court that tried and convicted him.”
However, Mr. Falana revealed that “the warrant signed by the Judge directed that the Effiong be held in Ikot Ekpene Correctional Centre, Akwa Ibom, throughout the duration of his prison term.
“But the order of the Court was secretly varied today as Inibehe was forcefully transferred to Uyo Correctional Centre in handcuffs even though there was no violence on his part.
“At the Uyo Correctional Centre, Inibehe was forced to sit on bare floor while his head was shaved together with his beard.
“He was thereafter subjected to more horrendous humiliation and paraded before all prison inmates.
“The brutal torture meted out to Inibehe by the prison officials in Akwa Ibom State constitutes a violent violation of his fundamental right to dignity guaranteed by section 34 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act Cap A9 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
“It is painful to note that the unprovoked violence unleashed on Inibehe is a sad reminder of the case of Minere Amakiri, then a reporter with Nigerian Observer, the old Bendel State owned newspapers whose head was shaved with a broken bottle in 1973 on the orders of Alfred Diette-Spiff, the then Military governor of the State.
“Apart from challenging the egregious infringement of the fundamental right of Inibehe to the dignity of his person and fair hearing we shall press for the prosecution of the officials who inflicted torture on him contrary to the provision of section 2 of the Anti Torture Act of 2017.
“The penalty for the offence of inflicting torture on any person in Nigeria is 25 years imprisonment without any option of fine”, Mr. Femi Falana said.
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