The World Igbo Summit Group (WISG) has lampooned the Kano state government, particularly its judiciary for setting free the three prime suspects apprehended in connection with the open murder of Mrs. Bridget Agbabi me.
The group, in a press release signed by its Public Affairs Director, Dr. Nwankwo Nwaezeigwe and captioned, “This Impunity and disregard to constitutional Provisions may Breed Anarchy and Lawlessness”, demanded that the discharged suspects be immediately re-arrested and duly prosecuted.
Mrs. Agbahime, 74, a trader and Imo indigene, was allegedly murdered in Kofar Wambai Market in Kano on June 2, 2016, by suspected Islamic group which had accused her of blasphemy.
Three suspects in the murder case, Dauda Ahmed, Abdulmumeen Mustafa, Zubairu Abubakar and Musa Abdullahi were slammed with a four-count charge of allegedly inciting disturbance, culpable homicide, joint act and mischief.
Although the Kano state government vowed to bring the culprits to book, the three suspects were released about four months into the mundane and brutal act.
Their release came at the instance of the state government which had, through its Attorney General, said the accused had no case to answer and should be discharged. The released had since generated heated debates among concerned groups and individuals.
According to WISG, the action by the kano State Government amounts to a monumental abuse of the due process of law and brazen disregard for human rights, adding that the action is unbelievable and an encouragement to criminally minded individuals.
It warned that “the time of unprovoked assault, killing, maiming and looting of the hard earned resources of Ndi Igbo anywhere in Nigeria can no longer be condoned”, demanding the immediate commencement of “an unbiased, full and due process led trial” of the killers of late Mrs. Agbahime.
The WISG which recently reacted to the development, stated that the action of the Kano state government was “absolutely baseless, watery and an invitation to avoidable crisis”, calling on the federal government as well as local and international human rights bodies to actively participate in the quest of fishing out the suspects.
“To say that we are saddened by this action by the kano State legal functionaries is to undermine the gravity of our sense of feelings. To us, the action is no more than a provocative challenge to our continuous existence in one Nigeria as equal citizens. That this action tends to put those of us who call for restraint on the activities of IPOB at the firing-range cannot be underestimated.
“We are therefore calling on the Kano state government as well as the federal government to take immediate steps to re-arrest these culprits and bring them to proper trial for the sake of peace and unity of our country”, it stated.
SOURCE: JOSHUA ERUBAMI
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