Oby Ezekwesili, the former Minister of Education and convener of BringBackourgirls campaign, has been arrested by the police.
Taking to her Twitter account, @obyezeks, the former Minister of Education, said she was arrested alongside some members of the BBOG group.
In her post, she stated:
‘’P @MBuhari : I have been ARRESTED along with rest of our BBOG members and NOW DETAINED without a charge by the .@PoliceNG . WE are detained at the FCT command . The Police here has REFUSED to tell us why we are DETAINED. What Are WE Demanding? BringBackOurGirlsNOW!!!!!!!”
“President .@MBuhari members of our BBOG Movement @BBOG_Nigeria HAVE BEEN ARRESTED BY OUR IG of .@PoliceNG . WE ARE ALL WAITING TO BE ARRESTED SINCE it has become an OFFENSE to DEMAND THAT YOU KEEP YOUR PROMISE TO RESCUE ALL OUR CHIBOKGIRLS.”
“President @MBuhari The police officers deployed by IG of .@PoliceNG is VIOLATING my FREEDOM of MOVEMENT by LOCKING ME IN inbroad day light at the Unity Fountain. THIS IS A DEMOCRACY. Officer Tina Ishayajust again REFUSED TO LET ME OUT OF THEIR WALL.”
“The FG of President .@MBuhari instructed the IG of @PoliceNG to DETAIN ME AND OTHER MEMBERS of @BBOG_Nigeria here at the Unity Fountain. Police men and women have BUILT AN IMPREGNABLE WALL and LOCKED ME IN. I have asked them more than 30 times to LET ME OUT and they REFUSED.’’
Reacting to the arrest, The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), in a statement via its Twitter page, demanded the release of those arrested and asked that they should be allowed to exercise their rights freely.
“The reported false imprisonment & detention of @obyezeks & members of @BBOG_Nigeria makes a mockery of @MBuhari’s claim that this govt is one of change that is governed by d rule of law. The authorities should immediately release them & allow them to freely exercise their rights’’
President .@MBuhari members of our BBOG Movement @BBOG_Nigeria HAVE BEEN ARRESTED BY OUR IG of .@PoliceNG . WE ARE ALL WAITING TO BE ARRESTED SINCE it has become an OFFENSE to DEMAND THAT YOU KEEP YOUR PROMISE TO RESCUE ALL OUR CHIBOKGIRLS.
— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) January 23, 2018
President @MBuhari The police officers deployed by IG of .@PoliceNG is VIOLATING my FREEDOM of MOVEMENT by LOCKING ME IN in broad day light at the Unity Fountain. THIS IS A DEMOCRACY. Officer Tina Ishaya just again REFUSED TO LET ME OUT OF THEIR WALL.
— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) January 23, 2018
We didn’t arrest, detain Ezekwesili, says Police
Meanwhile the FCT Police Command has denied arresting and detaining the leader of the Bring Back Our Girls group, Prof. Oby Ezekwesili and some of its members.Ezekwesili had alleged on her Twitter handle that she was arrested by Personnel of the the Force at the Unity Fountain while she and other members of the group were planning to embark on a peaceful protest to the Villa.
Reacting to the allegation on Tuesday, the Command Spokesman, DSP Anjuguri Manzah explained that some members of the group were only taken to the Command to forestall breakdown of law and order.
The statement reads : “The FCT Police Command wishes to clear the air and set the record straight that it did not arrest or detain Prof. Oby Ezekwesili and some members of the Bring Back Our Girls group as being speculated on some social media platforms.
“It is pertinent to state that they were only brought to the Command to ensure there was no breakdown of law and order as some members of the group reacted violently and broke down security barriers set up by the police to restrict their protest to Unity Fountain.
“The members of the group were addressed by the Commissioner of Police FCT, CP Sadiq Bello who reiterated the commitment of the Command to protect lives and property and enjoined the Bring Back Our Girls members to go about their lawful businesses. After briefing by the Commissioner of Police, the members of the group left the Command.”
