INDIA: 2 IPOB Activists held for 8 months in Indian police detention without registered charges--Report Chima Paul Ugochukwu GREATER NO...
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| Chima Paul Ugochukwu |
Chima Paul Ugochukwu and Chinasa Victor Obioha claim to be members of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), an organisation that wants some southeastern Nigerian states to secede and regroup as an independent nation called Biafra, which existed between 1967 and 1970. The two men, who arrived in India on a six-month business visa four years ago, had been living in a rented accommodation at Sigma 3 in Greater Noida and were engaged in exporting goods.
Some members of IPOB alleged that officers at Knowledge Park police station had detained them, along with 30 other men from Nigeria, on September 24 last year. Gradually, while the rest of them were either released or deported, the two men remained in police custody without any charges filed against them, said Franklin Okey, national coordinator of IPOB, India.
Okey added that most people from this region of Nigeria come to India either on student visas or for business purposes after being ‘persecuted’ by Nigerians. “The two men feared they would be killed if they go back,” he said.
“We are no criminals. Our people get murdered there and that’s why we run off to foreign countries for shelter. It's unfortunate that the police here do not understand our plight.”
He added that police should deport the men, and if not, at least formally file charges stating the reasons for detaining them. Kamlesh Mishra, the Delhi-based SC human rights lawyer, has held talks with the Noida commissionerate on the matter. He tweeted photos of the two men, with the hashtag ‘Black Lives Matter’.
The lawyer said he had filed a complaint with Noida police on May 26 asking for the men’s immediate release. He plans to file a writ petition in the Allahabad high court on Monday.#Blacklivesmatters. @Uppolice has illegally kept captive 2 Biafran (Nigerian) Nasnls 4 more than 6 months #surajpurpolicelines n No case being registered. @sspnoida told me they dont know why are they being kept there. @CP_Noida please free them immediately pic.twitter.com/xjX0LmnlBn— Kamlesh Kumar Mishra (@KamleshMaithil) June 2, 2020
Mishra told TOI that Noida police did not tell him on what charges they had held the two men. “So far, it appears to be a completely illegal, arbitrary and contemptuous arrest and detention,” he said. Sriparna Ganguly, Noida’s additional commissioner of police, said that the two men were arrested after they could not produce valid travel documents and have been detained legally. “They have not produced any document that could ascertain their nationality.
The ministry of external affairs and the Nigerian embassy are aware of this. We are also making efforts to send them back. These men do not want to go back to their country, and hence the charade,” she said, adding that both the men are being given food, shelter and are allowed to use their phones.
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