The legal counsel to Prince Nicholas Makolomi, the Ughelli chap who made the alleged video of SARS shooting a boy which allegedly led to the #EndSARS protest across the country, Barr. Ekenemolise Emwanta Osifo of Obiora Law Firm, Asaba, has stated that the rearrest of his client despite the Federal High Court ruling against his initial arrest and detention was a gross violation of the rule of law and show of utter disregard for the courts and the judiciary by the Police.
Osifo stated this today while addressing the Press after the rearrest of Prince Nicholas Makolomi in Asaba.
Osifo said the subsequent rearrest and continued detention of Makolomi was a shallow attempt to intimidate and silence him, concorting further negative stories to hide the Police inefficiency and the truth.
According to the lawyer, “the truth being that the said Prince Nicholas Makolomi actually observed and recorded an injustice being perpetuated and like what every right thinking Nigerian citizen would do, uploaded it to bring the attention of the public to the incident of the police brutality and to alert the Police to the extrajudicial and unlawful acts of those Police Officers”.
“Considering the present insecurities and lawlessness in the country, the baseless and unjustified act by the police to cover their inefficiency is an unnecessary distraction and mediocre instead of facing the actual issue and truth is totally disgraceful and unwarranted.” He added.
Osifo alleged that what aggravated the Police to the rearrest was the fact that the said Prince Nicholas Makolomi brought the attention of the Police to an act of unlawful extortion conducted by one SP Sunday Nwaja who requested for the sum of N500,000:00 (five hundred thousand naira) to grant him soft landing.
“As a cover up for their inadequacy or lack of discipline to investigate the extortion issue, the Police cunningly withdrew the pending matter from the Court and rearrested him.
Presently, the victim has been taken to an undisclosed location and not allowed access to his medication or any form of refreshment being a chronic ulcer and atshmatic patient.” He added
Osifo prayed that “We want unconditional release and stop further harassment of Prince Nicholas Makolomi and should respect and honour the decision of the Federal High Court ruling in Asaba granted November 24, 2020, which declared his earlier arrest and detention illegal.”
“Re-arresting him will amount to double jeopardy. He has been detained since Morning and now put inside a Prado SUV of one of the Deputy Commissioners of Police, who was driving to an unknown destination”. He added.
All efforts to reach the Commissioner of Police CP MI Hafiz, of Delta State Command to hear the views of the police proved abortive as the CP did not pick his call before this publication.