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Angered over Police brutality, Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has said that prosecution cannot come at the expense
of death, warning against Police brutality of Senator Dino Melaye.
Senator Melaye was rearrested by the Police in court on Wednesday after
the magistrate court granted him bail. The Police took him away from the
court premises in a convoy which comprised an ambulance carrying the
Senator.
The Senator was arraigned at a Kogi State Magistrate on Thursday.
Reacting on Senator Melaye’s travails, the Speaker noted with dismay the
arbitrary abuse of legal process by the Nigeria Police.
According to him:
“All I can say is that nothing can happen to the senator. If anyone in
this country commits an offence, the law is there for the person to be
prosecuted or arraigned in court within the ambit of the law.
“I don’t think the law supports a situation whereby someone is in a dire
health situation and is being arraigned most especially that that person
is a senator.
“It is unthinkable that a distinguished senator or an honorable member of
this house would run away from trial.
“So, my admonition to the security agencies is to do everything possible
to ensure that his life is secured first before prosecution.
“Prosecution cannot come at the expense of death and that is very
important because if anything happened to him, the responsibility will lie
on the security agencies.
“That is without mincing of words; because I have not seen a country where
someone will be arraigned in a stretcher; where he is not even in the
right frame of mind to even take a plea.
“What use is it if you’re taken someone to court and he cannot plead
guilty or not guilty. So, the emphasis should be on his health first.
“The Speaker’s warning followed a point of order by Rep. Sunday Karimi (
PDP, Kogi), who said Melaye was transported in an ambulance to Lokoja to
face trial despite the state of his health.