it should be thrown out
since it did not come as motion
on notice.
The trial Judge, E. Teetito
adjourned the matter to 6th
August for ruling.
Chidi Lloyd brought into the
state blindfolded
Meantime, Hon Chidi Lloyd was
brought into the state
yesterday by security men. At
press time, Saturday Vanguard
could not establish contact with
him. His Counsel, Nwafor,
SAN, said he was worried over
the safety of his client
because of the way the Police
was allegedly treating him. He
said Hon Lloyd was driven in,
blind folded and driven in a
Black Maria from the Port
Harcourt International Airport.
“Because of my client’s
information to me that he was
detained at the Force
Headquarters above the one-
day that was allowed, Chidi
Lloyd was flown into Port
Harcourt yesterday, and instead
of bringing him to court to
defend himself , we found, he
was blindfolded and we don’t
know what is happening to him.
There is genuine fear for his
life.
“If the Police have nothing to
hide, they would have brought
Chidi Lloyd to court this
morning. He is still not
brought to court till about
5pm. Even an armed robber is
brought to court in a Black
Maria, so why won’t he (Chidi)
be brought to court. If he is
brought to court, then, we will
know that he is alive.
“The Chief Justice of the
Federation has made rules that
we are following at the Federal
High Court and the High Court
and both have concurrent
jurisdiction to hear
fundamental rights application”
Nwafor said.
Emenike Ebete who is also one
of his lawyers said it was sad
that the Police was yet to
arraign the lawmaker twenty
four hours after he went to the
Force Headquarters, Abuja .
Continuing, he corroborated
claim by Nwafor, that his
client was blindfolded when he
arrived Port Harcourt, adding
that at the moment, he could
not say where he was. He
further expressed deep worries
over his security.
“We arrived Port Harcourt at
8.45am this morning and over
500 policemen escorted Chidi
Lloyd from the Port Harcourt
Airport to the office of the
Commissioner of Police. He
was blindfolded when he
alighted from the Black Maria
as if he was a common
criminal. He walked into the
CP’s office and spent about
three minutes. After that, we
don’t know his where about.”
Saturday Vanguard gathered
that there were plans to
prosecute Hon Lloyd over the
fracas on the floor of the
House of Assembly recently.
On his part, the member
representing Andoni/Opobo
Nkoro Federal Constituency,
Rivers State in the House of
Representatives, Hon Dakuku
Peterside condemned the
alleged torture of Hon Lloyd by
Police in the state yesterday.
“This is not only condemnable
but regrettable. Rivers State
Police Command under Mbu
seems not to be bothered by
the fact that any evidence that
is obtained by force, torture,
intimidation or by any form of
abuse is not admissible in the
court of law, and this is
unfortunate.
“This inhuman conduct by
Rivers State Police Command is
not only a gross abuse of the
fundamental human rights of
the accused but further
confirms our fears that Mbu is
out to eliminate Lloyd who has
been subjected to horrific
ordeal since his return to
Rivers State.
“This ugly development in our
country today is anti-thetical to
the Geneva Convention which
expressly demands that
countries take effective
measures to prevent torture
within their borders. Other
international laws also confirm
that torture and other
mistreatment of persons in
custody are also prohibited in
all circumstances under
international human rights law.
This, no doubt, is diminishing
and a major setback to our
nascent democracy.
“The Police High Command
should do the needful and stop
subjecting the accused to this
inhumanity until full
investigation into the crisis is
concluded. He has neither been
convicted of any offence nor
condemned to perpetual
incarceration in police custody
by any court of law,” Peterside
said in a statement by his
media aide, Sylvester Asoya.
The statement further lauded
the Inspector General of Police,
for the way Hon Lloyd was
allegedly treated while at the
Force Headquarters, Abuja.
On his part, the Deputy Speaker
of the House of Assembly, Hon
Leyii Kwanee also expressed
worry over the whereabout of
Lloyd.
“ There are dangers of his
where about. You can recall
the case of Abiola, when he was
arrested and held in custody,
few days after he was released,
he died. So, we don’t know
what the police authorities are
doing with Chidi Lloyd. I
gathered few hours ago that he
was at the Police Officers’
Mess, but now it is about 5pm,
Chidi Lloyd is not in court and
nobody knows what might
happen to him. I was told that
he was handcuffed and
tortured. Even if there are
assumptions that he committed
any crime, he deserves an
opportunity to express himself
before he can be charged to
court. Nobody has the right to
torture Chidi Lloyd, not to talk
of any Nigerian”, Kwanee said
“If you’ll recall what happened,
Chidi Lloyd was invited by the
Police Force Headquarters,
Abuja for alleged conspiracy. It
is not possible to conspire with
oneself. Who are the
conspirators? I have spoken
severally that there is a grand
plan, a design to undermine
democracy in Rivers State.
There are elements that are
anti-democratic, working to
undermine the developmental
efforts of Governor Amaechi. It
is the grand plan by those who
are against the progress of the
current administration. There
is development everywhere,
but, the enemies are at work”,
he said.[/quote]

Its so unfortunate that some people cannot just handle stadom!!!