A Benue State indigene, Bernard Ogbu who was reportedly arrested by the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja is still in custody with no trial or bail three years after.
According to a report, the 43-year-old Ogbu has been in the custody of SARS since March 3, 2019, when he was arrested at his residence in the New Nyanya area of Nasarawa State.
It was also learnt that the SARS operatives who arrested him did not allow anyone to visit him.
According to a family source, to date, the police authority has neither disclosed any criminal allegation against Ogbu nor released him to his family.
Now, the Senator representing Benue South Senatorial District, Abba Moro has called on the Nigeria Police to produce Ogbu who is one of his constituents.
In a statement, the lawmaker revealed that Bernard Ogbu’s wife developed depression and other health complications as a result of the prolonged detention of her husband and died last year, leaving behind four young children.
An Abuja-based legal practitioner, Napoleon Otache, who raised the alarm on behalf of the family over Ogbu’s detention in a petition to the Presidency, Inspector General of Police, IGP, National Assembly, the National Human Rights Commission and other numerous agencies, said the SARS’ operatives also confiscated Ogbu’s personal belongings during the arrest and the operatives have also converted the belongings to their personal use.
Senator Moro condemned the unprofessional conduct of the police for refusing to charge the suspect to court within 48 hours as stipulated in the Nigerian constitution.
