HURIWA Slams Handcuffs On Seun Kuti, Says He Won’t Get Fair Investigation From Police

Civil rights advocacy group, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has condemned the arrest, detention and investigation of the Lagos based Singer/ Songwriter Mr Seun Kuti the youngest son of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

Speaking against the backdrop of the self-surrender by Seun Kuti and what the group described as the “despicable humiliation by police of handcuffing him even when he is already within their jurisdiction” the group said that it was a clear sign of extra-judicial tendencies by the police.

HURIWA said the police can’t be allowed constitutionally to be the judge, the advocate and prosecutor in a case that both the IGP and the Police Service Commission have made prejudicial statements against Seun Kuti in violation of section 36 (1) of the constitution.

Specifically, section 36 (1) of the Constitution states thus: “In the determination of his civil rights and obligations, including any question or determination by or against any government or authority, a person shall be entitled to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such manner as to secure its independence and impartiality.

“In as much as we in HURIWA do not have any position about the encounter between the famous musician and a police officer, because we were not eye witness to what transpired, we condemn the hasty conclusions reached by both the Inspector General of Police and Chairman of the PSC who is a retired Police IGP.

“HURIWA respects the police as an institution and therefore does not support any form of assault to those wearing the uniforms bought for them by the taxpayers. HURIWA also, is worried by the phenomenal rise in indiscipline and reckless driving by police drivers and how lawless some of the police drivers pilot police vehicles and breach traffic laws with impunity.

“We expected the IGP and the Chairman of the police service commission who is a very senior lawyer and a retired IGP to have maintained decorum and not jump into hasty conclusions by prejudging a matter between two citizens-a police operatives and Citizen Seun Kuti.

“But these two powerful persons heading policing institution and police’s oversight platform, immediately jumped into biased conclusions and condemned Seun Kuti even before any sort of investigation is conducted.

“This is akin to allowing the police to be the judge, the accuser, the prosecutor all rolled up into one. This is irregular and unconstitutional and is a lynch mob justice.”

“The absolutely one-sided opinions of the Police Chief of Nigeria, and the Chairman of the PSC, demonstrates one fact-that the policing institution is not suitable to investigate this vexed encounter between citizen Seun Kuti and a Police officer but the Lagos State Attorney General could have waded into the issue and play the unbiased umpire’s role by taking the matter to the competent court of law in line with section 6 of the constitution which states thus: “The judicial powers of the Federation shall be vested in the courts to which this section relates, being courts established for the Federation”.

HURIWA however stated that there won’t be fair investigation by the same police that had reached a predetermined conclusion that Seun Kuti assaulted one of their own even as the Rights group warned the Police that they will have the human rights community to contend with should anything untoward happens to Seun Kuti just as HURIWA backs the irrepressible Senior Advocate of Nigeria Femi Falana for wading in as the solicitor to Seun Kuti.

The Rights group expressed optimism that Femi Falana will certain not let the police apply physical, psychological or emotional tortures against Seun Kuti who is a respected civil rights campaigner in his own right.

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