SERAP alleges politicians using police to intimidate opposition, lawyers

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has alleged that some top politicians in the country are deploying the police to arrest legal experts defending opposition parties in election tribunals.

This was in the wake of post-election agitations which had seen some opposition lawyers arrested.

The Rivers State Police Command on Sunday confirmed the arrest of three lawyers —Jerry Aondo, Sobere Nelson and Odum Eyiba— filing proceedings at the election petition tribunal for the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

It also said five APC support staff working with the legal team to challenge the outcome of the March 18, 2023 governorship election in the state were picked alongside the lawyers in the state capital, Port Harcourt.

However, a number of Nigerians, including the legal luminary, Femi Falana, had condemned the development, saying it lacked legal justification.

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“The primary purpose of the latest display of naked power is to frustrate the opposition from filing an election petition against the rigging and violence that marred the March 18 governorship election in Rivers state”, the legal expert said.

SERAP in a tweet on its verified Twitter handle on Monday described the act as outright unconstitutional.

The organization insisted the latest plot was to deny aggrieved political parties access to justice.

“Some Nigerian politicians are apparently using the police to arrest election petition lawyers presumably to compromise the evidence of their political opponents. This is a flagrant violation of the Nigerian Constitution. Access to justice is a fundamental right”, the organization wrote.

By Ambali Abdulkabeer

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