Group identifies Police ‘torture chamber’ in Rivers

Group identifies Police ‘torture chamber’ in Rivers

Tuesday, January 21, 2020 3:05 pm


Chima: allegedly tortured to death by police

Okafor Ofiebor

With the dust raised by the torturing to death of one Chima Ikwunado, a motor mechanic by the officers of the E-Crack unit of the Police attached to Mile One, Diobu, Port Harcourt is yet to settle, a human rights organization, the Civil Rights Council, has expressed concern over what it described as ‘growing history of torture of suspects’  in police custody in Rivers State.

The State Chairman of the  Council, Prince  Wiro, told journalists that human rights organizations in the state had many times in the past, raised alarm on the excessive use of force to extract statements from suspects by the Police, especially, officers attached to the E-crack Unit of Mile One.

He pointed out that the E-Crack Unit  has a history of torturing suspects in detention.

He noted that in October 2019, the Civil Rights Council raised alarm over three suspects who were detained for weeks and forced to confess that they are kidnappers when they are not.

He added that the alleged suspects were released after several petitions to the Commissioner of Police, Mustapha Dandaura, and the Inspect General of Police monitoring units.

Prince Wiro, said the organization has documented many instances of inhuman treatments meted out to suspects detained at the Mile One Police Division for onward transmission to the state governor, Nyesom  Wike.

Wiro therefore called on the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, the Rivers State governor, the Attorney General of the State and  rights organizations to rise up to the challenge of curtailing abuses  in the state.

“Civil Rights Council has also concluded plans to write to the Executive Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency Nyesom Wike and also copy the Hon. Attorney General of the state, Dr. Zaccheus Adango, detailing Human Rights abuses by the men of the Eagle Crack Police unit, which if not checked, may cause crisis in the state,” he said.


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