Premium Times
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has vowed to probe the petition accusing the chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar, of assaulting a security guard at an Abuja plaza.
The Executive Secretary of the commission, Anthony Ojukwu, disclosed this in response to an enquiry by PREMIUM TIMES, on Saturday.
A viral video footage greeted by public outrage had revealed how Mr Umar attacked the security guard, Clement Sargwak, at the popular Banex Plaza in Wuse 2, Abuja, on March 29.
Mr Sargwak later told this newspaper that Mr Umar attacked him after informing him (the CCT chairman) of the wrong parking of his car on the plaza’s premises.
PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier Saturday that Mr Umar, through his lawyer, Samuel Ihensekhien, had petitioned the NHRC over the matter.
Asked by our reporter for his comment on the petition on Saturday, the commission’s executive secretary, Mr Ojukwu, said he had yet to receive the petition.
He, however, expressed hope that he would see the petition on Monday and vowed that the commission would investigate it.
He said, “I have not yet seen the petition by the complainant because I have been away, but hopefully will see it when I get to the office on Monday.
“We shall investigate the allegations made in the complaint. Today being a weekend, I hope to fish it out next week and we shall deal with it.“
NHRC’s procedure
The NHRC boss explained to our correspondent that the commission’s procedure entails inviting the complainant and the alleged violator to state their sides of the case.
“Our normal process is to invite the complainant and the alleged violator for either further clarifications or their own sides of the story for purposes of fair hearing before reaching a determination or order further investigations,” he said.
Restating the resolve of the commission to probe the case, Mr Ojukwu added, “I assure you that the necessary processes will be taken on this complainant.”
Petition
Mr Sargwark had petitioned the NHRC accusing of abuse of power, assault, torture, and ‘xenophobia’.
He alleged, through his lawyer, that the statement issued by the CCT’s press and media unit, claiming that Mr Umar was attacked by a mob of ‘Biafran boys’ on the day of the incident, amounted to a slur against him and other tenants of the plaza who gathered at the scene where he was assaulted by the CCT chairman.
The petitioner also accused both Mr Umar and officers of the FCT police command of “intimidating and threatening tenants and all eyewitnesses in an attempt to cover up Mr Umar’s dirty tracks of the March 29 event.”
“That the FCT police command officers are busy inviting and threatening to arrest banex plaza tenants and all those that (who) witness(ed) the unruly behaviour of Umar Danladi to cover up Umar Danladi criminal and dirty tracks.
“That the IPO of the Police Command has again invited a colleague of Clement Sargwak who is one of the eyewitnesses to the event on Monday, March 29, 2021.
“That the Umar Danladi is bent on intimidating everyone around Clement Sagwak who has any useful information to indict our client,” the petition partly reads.
PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier Saturday that two serving officers of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) hadpetitioned the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) praying that Mr Umar be prosecuted for his “unbecoming conduct” of assaulting the security guard.
This Story First Appeared At The Premium Times
