The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) on Sunday urged the Federal Government to probe circumstances surrounding the death of five officers of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in accident on the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road on Thursday.
This is contained in a statement issued by the National Coordinator of HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko.
The officers were travelling to Uyo to meditate in the crisis between students and management of the Federal University of Uyo, which snowballed into a student protest and eventual closure of the institution on Wednesday.
Onwubiko alleged that the accident was caused by an illegal police road block.
But the Abia Police Command Public Relations Relations Officer, DSP Geofrey Ogbonna, said the allegation was “pure falsehood.
“There were no policemen at the spot where the accident took place,” he said.
The Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Frank Mba, echoed a similar view.
“The report that the accident was caused by a police road block is absolutely false.
“There was no police presence in terms of road block at the time of the accident,” he said.
Onwubiko condemned situation where erring police officers were not sanctioned for failure to comply with the order to remove all police road blocks across the country.
He also condemned the use of firearms by police to disperse protesting university students.
“Operatives of the Nigerian police have serially failed to comply with the UN’s basic principles on the use of force and firearms during peaceful protests by the civil populace.
“The group urges immediate remedial measures to be adopted to save more innocent lives from being killed,?? Onwubiko said.
He further urged the Federal Government to train police operatives to comply with extant laws on the use of force and firearms.
“Nigeria must bring to an end these serial violations by police operatives of the fundamental right to life of innocent citizens,” he added.
