Popular broadcaster and activist, Chinonso Ubah, has called on the Imo State government to charge detained former state Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Chief Fabian Ihekweme, to court, instead of illegally detaining him in police custody.
Pecohub reports that Ihekweme was arrested by operatives of Tiger Base Unit of the Imo State Police Command in November 2024 in Abuja and commandeered to Owerri, Imo State.
Since then, the Obowo Local Government Area-born Ihekweme, popularly known as Omu, has been languishing in police gulag.
Ubah argued in a viral video circulating online since January 24 that Omu’s continuous detention without trial was in clear violation of his fundamental human rights.
The activist maintained that Omu had been detained beyond the constitutionally approved 48 hours without being charged to court.
He therefore enjoined the state government to sue Omu without further delay, saying that “it was only the court that could determine whether he would remain in custody or not.”
Ubah cautioned the state government against trampling on the rights of the citizens.
He assured the government of Governor Hope Uzodimma that it could not stop freedom of speech in the state by cowing outspoken citizens with illegal detection.
He also appealed to all relevant bodies, including the Human Rights Commission to step into the Omu matter with a view to ensuring that the right thing was done.