By Collins Sunday
A socio-cultural group under the aegis of the Fulani Youth Association of Nigeria has decried the continuous detention of the President of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Abdullahi Bello Bodejo, by the Nigerian Army.
The group, therefore, called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene in the matter in the interest of equity and fairness for all citizens of the country.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Convener of the Fulani Youths Association of Nigeria, Mohammed Suleiman, and made available to journalists in Lafia on Saturday.
The statement read, “We are aware that Bodejo was picked in his office for some days now and he is being held at the facility of the Nigerian Army in Asokoro without charge.
“The Nigerian Army is not empowered by our laws to detain any citizen. The Police and the Department of State Services are the only ones with the power to detain a citizen. Keeping Alhaji Bodejo for this long period is illegal.
“By this illegal act, the Army is going outside its constitutional duty. They should hand over our leader to the Police or the DSS and grant them records of whatever they are investigating.
“We call on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to as a matter of urgency order the immediate release of the Lamido Fulbe, Bello Bodejo.”
The group also described Bodejo’s continuous detention without trial as “unconstitutional” and “smacks of impunity of the highest order.”
“If the Army has evidence against Bello Bodejo committing any offence known to the law, he should be arraigned before a competent court. Subjecting him to illegal detention is an infringement on his fundamental human rights as enshrined in the constitution,” the statement added.
Sunday PUNCH gathered that Bodejo’s arrests may not be unconnected to his recent establishment and inauguration of a 1,144-man nomad vigilante team saddled with the responsibility of fighting against banditry, cattle rustling, and all forms of insecurity in Nasarawa State.
Source: The Punch
