By Andy Asemota
Senate Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Bwacha (Taraba South, PDP), has urged the acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the National Judicial Council (NJC) to investigate the gross abuse of fundamental human rights of 14 persons allegedly dragged illegally to a Correctional Centre in the state.

“From the police cell, they were taken to the Correctional Centre. Mr. President, this is judicial rascality. It is condemnable, it is unwarranted, and must be investigated. And whoever is found culpable must be punished,” said Bwacha.

The lawmaker made this assertion in motion taken at the plenary on Wednesday, while expressing concern that the victims, in spite of the bail applications served on the police a week after their arrest, were hurriedly taken to the acting Chief Registrar of Taraba High Court 1, Bartholomew Kaigama, who issued the remand warrant against them.

Bwacha decried the continued abuse of the rights of 14 of his constituents since 22nd April 2021, following an altercation between them and the younger brother of the governor of Taraba State as undemocratic.

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He also stressed that in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing strike of the judicial workers union, the senate should wade into the matter.

In his contribution, Senator Bamidele Opeyemi said: “For 14 citizens of this country in Taraba State to be detained for this long without the law following its due process, is something of a national embarrassment to all of us. The Senate should be interested in it and the matter should be investigated as soon as possible.”

Accordingly, the Senate resolved that the acting IGP and NJC should investigate the matter thoroughly. It also urged that the Senate should call on NJC in collaboration with with itsTaraba State counterpart to investigate Mr. Kaigama and examine the possibility of not granting bail to the suspects pending their trial.