Convener, Concerned Nigerians, Deji Adeyanju, has been arrested and detained by the police for murder.
Meanwhile, Adeyanju had reportedly been acquitted of the same crime in 2014 by Justice Mohammed Haliru of the Kano High Court.
According to a statement by Adeyanju’s lawyer, Tolu Babaleye, issued in Abuja on Monday, the rights activist had been detained for six days by the Federal Capital Territory Police Command.
The statement disclosed that Adeyanju was detained during a visit to the FCT Police Command headquarters to retrieve his mobile telephone, which was seized after he led a rally against the police role in the political crisis that engulfed Akwa Ibom State last month.
According to Babaleye, the police had refused to let his client go despite his denying the allegation and providing the Certified True Copy of the earlier judgment, which acquitted and discharged him of the murder charge.
“Despite the statement, the police, instead of proving the guilt of our client, insisted on him proving his innocence by providing the Certified True Copy of the said judgment, which exonerated him of the culpable homicide allegation.
“Our client, who is sure of his acquittal, went out of his way to produce a copy of the judgment and served same on the Inspector-General of Police this morning (Monday) and a copy was also made available to the Investigating Police Officer at the Louis Edet House.
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“On receiving the said judgment from us, the IPO made a statement that made us to be curious and to know that something was fishy, when he said the police wanted to revisit a case that had been decided by a competent court of law and which is now caught up with the long-established principle of ‘utre fois acquit’, which makes the case a dead issue that cannot be reawakened,” the statement said.
Calling on Nigerians to prevail on the police to respect the law of the land and release his client, whom he described as the voice of the downtrodden, Babaleye challenged the rationale for the detention of his client, noting that the police had restricted access to Adeyanju since he was arrested last week Thursday.
