… Civil Rights groups condemn police action
By Chukwudi Ebele
The crisis rocking Ozomagana Building materials market, Onitsha, Anambra State, has deepened following the alleged arrest of the market chairman, Obiora Okoro, at the market for the seventh time by the police Intelligence Response Team, (IRT) from Abuja.
Recall that the traders and Modebe family (landlord) have been at loggerhead for about two years now over seven plazas which were leased to the traders to run for 50 years and payment made and documented.
However, the Modebe family was said to have later disagreed with the earlier agreement and demanded for a renewed agreement to ostensibly increase the payment for the lease agreement but the traders refused which resulted in the repeated arrest of the chairman to sign a new agreement under duress, our correspondent gathered.
Reacting to the arrest of the chairman by the IRT police from Abuja, two human rights organizations condemned the repeated arrest of the market chairman Okoro and his executives even as they urged the new Inspector General of Police, (IGP), Tunji Disu, to come to the rescue of the traders.
According to the Anambra State chairman of Civil Liberties Organization, CLO, Evangelist comrade Vincent Ezekwueme, “I urge Governor Chukwuma Soludo to intervene by stopping the repeated arrest of traders by Police from Abuja when there are policemen in the state to handle such issues.
“There is no way the police from Abuja will be used to intimidate traders in Onitsha and more over the same case they came for is still pending in two courts, from what we gathered. The court should be allowed to rule on the matter. The action of the police is subjudice,” he stated.
Also contributing, an Abuja based activist, Peter Nwangwu, expressed surprise that the police will arrest chairman of a market in Onitsha when the matter is still pending in two courts and urged the IGP to come to the rescue of the traders.
“I have been monitoring this case right from Police Special Investigation Unit, (SIU), to Police Legal Department, and now Intelligence Response Team, all in Abuja, all writing the scripts of former IGP said to hail from Egbema, as far as this market crisis is concern. ex- IGPs should allow the incumbent IGP, Tunji Disu to do his work.
“This is about the seventh time the police from Abuja is arresting the chairman, Okoro, and his executives, just to be intimidated by the Modebe family and be forced to sign a new lease agreement.
“The new IGP came in and desolved SIU that was the highest police corrupt formation in Nigeria and Modebe family switched over to Police Legal Department and now to IRT. I urge the IGP to investigate this IRT that is being used now by Modebe family that also boasts that the said former IGP from is backing the family.
“IRT now writes the scripts of the former IGP, he can not usurp the functions of the IGP as he allegedly directs the IRT on who to arrest and who not to in this Ozomagana market crisis and beyond.
“The IRT stormed the market and arrested Okoro, his secretary, Patrick Obiekwe escaped by the whiskers, an elderly man from Modebe family, Sam Modebe, pastor Olisa Modebe and Richard Modebe, are among those in the police list for arrest. Those Modebe family members included in the list are against the illegalities allegedly being perpetrated by the other faction of Modebe family,” he revealed further.