Surprisingly, it was discovered that the police to whom the matter was earlier reported to, were the same people who held Ranti Thomas incommunicado.
By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
The National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC) has condemned the unlawful detention of publisher of Royal Times Magazine, Ranti Alaba Thomas by men of the Nigeria Police, Lagos State Command and asks the Inspector-General of Police to look into the matter.
Ranti Thomas was arrested and detained in the Police underground detention cell for four days without a trace by members of his family and colleagues and was released thereafter.
In a statement jointly signed by the Chairmen of Lagos and Ikeja branches Peter Fowoyo and Wahab Akinlade, NAJUC decried the illegal detention of Ranti Thomas by security operatives, describing it as unconstitutional and flagrant violation of his right to freedom of expression as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
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The statement maintained that journalists have constitutional obligation to report issues of interest to the public and should not be barred or harassed in the course of such reportorial duties.
The Association urged men of the Nigeria Police as well as government officials to uphold democratic principles and refrain from abusive use of power.
The Association has therefore called on the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, to investigate the unwarranted maltreatment and illegal detention of Ranti Thomas for four days without valid reasons and access to his family and colleagues.
The statement added that families and friends of the publisher of Royal Times Magazine were thrown into confusion on June 3, 2022, when he was forcefully abducted at gun point by men of Nigerian Police, who kept him incommunicado for 72 hours.
The statement further added that immediately after the power-drunk policemen abducted Ranti Thomas, his cellphone was seized from him and the SIM card was removed, making it difficult for sister security agencies to track him down.
According to information gathered by NAJUC members from the family, Ranti Thomas left his office on Friday on an invite to meet someone who called him on his cellphone but did not return until Monday.
The worrisome development prompted his colleagues to reach out to relevant security agencies, including the Police and were told that his telephone has been switched off, and was last active on Friday when he was abducted at the gunpoint.
Surprisingly, it was discovered that the police to whom the matter was earlier reported to, held him incommunicado.
The statement reads, “The National Association of Judiciary Correspondents, (NAJUC) condemns the arrest and detention of Ranti Thomas for 72hours without access to a lawyer, family members and associates.
‘’On Monday evening, the NAJUC Chairman of Ikeja Branch, Wahab Akinlade, received a call from an unknown caller who identified himself as a police inspector from the State Command asking him to report at the Tracking Unit to secure his bail.
‘’The chairman who was accompanied by other colleagues reported at the said unit and were shocked to see their ‘missing’ colleague looking sick and dejected in the custody of the same Police authority that was reported to for search hunt.
“In the mixed feeling, they were shocked to know that it was policemen who abducted their colleague on the frivolous offence of “interrogating a fugitive suspect,” an alien offence to the state and federation laws in Nigeria.
“Being inquisitive, they asked for clarifications, only to be told that their colleagues was arrested on the account that he was having a regular communication with a suspect that they are searching for.
“Ranti Thomas is an advocate of justice who has paid several sacrifices in the last two decades in promoting human rights was treated as a hardened criminal with flagrant disregard to his fundamental right.
“What baffled journalists and lawyers who stormed the police command to effect his release was that the same police who were paid as the agency to track him was the one who abducted him at the gunpoint, and kept him in an underground cell without any ray of light for 72hours.
“This is in contrast to the extant laws which allow a suspect to have access to telephone calls, lawyers, and relatives”.
The Association is hereby calling on the Inspector General of Police, Police Service Commission and the National Human Rights Commission to look into the inhuman treatment meted to this journalist with a view to bring the affected officers to face the full wrath of the law in order to serve as deterrent to others.
