The Rule of Law Accountability and Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has criticised the hurried and secret manner, the Abia State rushed a 63-year-old cobbler, Mr. Chikadibia Sunday and his three daughters to court after holding them incommunicado for weeks.
The Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, who described the actions of the Police as one of impunity, said: “The family, abducted in April in a violent raid on their home in Alaukwu village, Osisioma Ngwa Local Government Area, were denied access to lawyers or relatives throughout their detention. Only after pressure from the media and civil society organisations were they quietly remanded at Aba Correctional Centre—without informing their family or allowing legal representation.”
According to Nwanguma, the secretive nature of the arraignment and lack of due process raise grave concerns about the transparency and integrity of the justice system.
He added that the Police initially denied knowledge of their whereabouts, despite witness accounts and evidence placing them at the notorious Anti-Kidnapping Unit in Umuahia.
He further stated: “The sudden emergence of capital charges—ranging from conspiracy to murder to kidnapping—is as suspicious as the silence that surrounded their arrest.
“These charges are entirely alien to the family, particularly given that one of the daughters was only home for Easter holidays. The conduct of the Abia State Police shows a disturbing pattern of abuse—marked by arbitrary arrest, denial of access, and secret arraignments—and demands urgent intervention from the Inspector-General of Police and the Police Service Commission. Nigerians must not remain silent as such acts erode the very foundation of justice.”
