From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has written to the United Kingdom (UK) Government to thoroughly investigate the Heathrow Airport immigration officers’ assault, humiliation, embarrassment and detention of Mr. Peter Obi, a Labour Presidential Candidate at just concluded general election.
The group who described Obi as a long time UK resident and presumed winner of the Nigeria’s Feb 2023 brutally rigged Presidential Poll, to investigate the action to avoid future occurrence and to ensure that his personal security and safety like those provided for high profile UK residents/citizens are provided.
The Chairman of Intersociety Mr. Emeka Umeagbalasi in a letter to the UK Foreign Secretary, the Rt. Hon James Cleverly; the UK Minister of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Dev Office, the Rt. Hon Andrew Mitchell, the Co-Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Dev Office, the Rt. Hon Anne-Maria Trevelyan, the UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign, Commonwealth and Dev Office, the Rt. Hon David Rutley, the UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign, Commonwealth and Dev Office (2), the Rt. Hon Leo Docherty, the Lord Alton of Liverpool, David Patrick Paul Alton and the Baroness Cox and Caroline Anne Cox.
Other Principal Officers who signed the letter include Chidinma Udegbunam Esquire and Ositadinma Agu requested for expeditious and thorough investigations into the 7th April 2023 Heathrow Airport immigration assault, humiliation, embarrassment and hours of detention of Mr Peter Obi.
According to the letter, “We at Nigeria’s Intersociety made additional request that the findings of the investigations above demanded shall be expeditiously and dispassionately acted upon by UK Government.
“Such findings must unmask the sources or suppliers of the false intelligence upon which the UK immigration officers unlawfully acted on and that the feathers of those found culpable must be ruffled. The UK Government was further called upon to direct its High Commission/Commissioner in Nigeria to, at the end of the investigations and their findings, publicly issue an unreserved apology to the person and families of Chief Peter Obi and ensure that such despicable act does not repeat itself in future.
“The UK Airport immigration officers must governmentally be called to order and prohibited from such despicable act again. The respected UK Government should put a stop to such international macabre act and avoid being widely perceived or labeled “an international ally of political office gangsterism and political banditry’ in Nigeria”.
“The danger of the UK Government refusing to do nothing and continuing to shield such international stigmatization, false labeling and criminalization of respected statesmen like Chief Peter Obi on UK soil and beyond is that internationally prohibited and illicit narcotics can be planted on UK soil in the luggage of the Mr. Peter Obi or any of Nigeria’s few remaining moralists and democracy champions so as to demonize and discredit them at international borders.
“It must not be forgotten that Peter Obi is one of the minutest Nigerian elected public office holders being celebrated locally and internationally. This was as a result of his enviable “input and output legitimacies” (credible ascension to elective political office and outstanding achievements recorded) when he held sway as the presumed winner of the brutally manipulated 2003 Anambra Governorship Election and eventually the Court-reversed and retuned Governor of Anambra State (17th March 2006 to 17th March 2014; a period of eight years)” the letter read.