The Chairman of Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law, Monday Ubani, has berated the Nigerian Army for detaining Private Hannah Sofiah detained for publicly accepting a marriage proposal by a National Youth Corp member.
In a statement on Tuesday, the NBA-SPIDEL boss also condemned the decision by the Nigerian Navy to detained and punish Abdulgafar Ahmed also known as Cute Abiola for almost three weeks for allegedly contravening Navy social media rules.
Ubani noted that while the Army and Navy have the right to maintain discipline amongst its officers, such actions must, however, be guided by the 1999 constitution which guarantees the rights of all citizens including military officers.
Speaking on the case of Cute Abiola, Ubani said,” This young officer was detained by the Nigerian Navy for days days without the knowledge of his family for allegedly contravening the military laws. The military must be mindful that Nigeria is not a ‘Banana Republic’, where anything goes.
“What irked many is the silence of his employers for two solid days after he was detained with no member of his family being aware of his detention or what has happened to him.
“The secrecy surrounding his detention by his employers and the reasons advanced for his ordeal smacks of an era of military regime where basic rights of the citizens are violated with impunity.
Also demanding the release of Private Hannah, Ubani said, “The human rights community finds it difficult to accept the fact that a citizen can be taken hostage in an opaque manner and it has to take some days before the authority can confirm that they are the one holding the citizen hostage in their facility.
“So also is the idea of throwing a young military officer into detention simply because she accepted marriage proposal which is approved by God and laws of the land.”
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