Date: 2020-09-19

A retired Lance Corporal in the Nigerian Army, Mr Bode Bello, has called on the Nigerian Army and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Col. Tukur Buratai, to respect a court ruling regarding his human rights violation.

In a letter written to Buratai by his lawyer, Dr Ahmed Isau, Bello, who said he retired as a Lance Corporal in the Nigerian Army with service number – EX98NA/47/3596L/CPL, appealed to the Nigerian Army to release his identification card, which he said had been them since June 6, 2017.

Bello said he was illegally arrested and detained for over five hours by one Lt. Col. N. C. Achikasim with service number N/10545 on June 6, 2017 despite identifying himself properly as a retired soldier and member of the Nigerian Legion.

He said based on the action of Achikasim, he approached the court and filed a suit before Justice B. G. Ashigar at the Federal High Court, Ilorin who granted a judgment on June 14, 2019 that his fundamental human rights should be enforced.

He said that since then, his identification card had not been released to him as the court judgment was not implemented by the Nigerian Army.

He said in the letter, "It would be recalled that we instituted an action before the Federal High Court, Ilorin Judicial Division to enforce the fundamental human rights of Mr Bode Bello (a retired Lance Corporal with retired service number – EX98NA/47/3596L/CPL) who was illegally arrested and detained by one Lt. Col. N. C. Achikasim (Service Number N/10545). The Nigerian Army was duly represented in the court during the hearing of the matter."

He said that the court declared as illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional the arrest and the continued confiscation of the identification card of Bello as it violated his fundamental human rights as entrenched in Section 44(1) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.

Isau said, "The court also ordered the respondent to release with immediate effect the applicant's identity card and pepper spray confiscated during his arrest on June 6, 2017 and which have been in the custody of the Nigerian Army and Col. Achikasim till date.