Magnus Eze, Enugu
No fewer than 20
members of a humanitarian organisation, De Norsemen Klub International (DNKI),
were on Monady, paraded as common criminals at the Enugu State Police Command.
The police had last weekend, allegedly disrupted the
group’s South East zonal conference at a highbrow hotel in GRA, Enugu, and
arrested some of their members.
Leader of the club in the South East, Comarde Okenwa
Uka, who addressed newsmen at the premises of the magistrate court, where they
were arraigned and subsequently granted bail by Magistrate Dennis Eko, accused
the police of witch hunting them for allegedly failing to give N2million to the
officer in charge of the anti-cult unit of the command.
Explaining how the police in Enugu branded the
organization a cult group, he said that they were shocked to hear from the
police prosecutor that the evidence they had against them was the banner
publicly displayed for the event at the event centre.
He said: “They told the court that was the only proof
why they suspected that we belong to a cult group.”
Uka stated that they had a month ahead of the conference
written to the security agencies about the programme and were even invited by
the Department of State Services (DSS) who gave them clearance.
He said: “What led to our arrest can only be defined by
the man who led the arrest DSP, Chidobe Ekeleme. Prior to the date of our
event, we wrote to the police and Department of State Services, notifying them
of our event scheduled to hold between August 6 and 8. DSS invited us for
interview, we went and they asked us some questions and after they said we
should go ahead with the event. It was an event we have done across the whole
country. Even in April this year, we were in Dubai, United Arab Emirate. We had
gone to Accra, Ghana last year. In December 2018, we were in Aba, Abia state.
It is just a convention where we come together and talk about contemporary
issues and at the end of each programme we issue a communique where we raise
issues for the nation on how to move the nation forward. We forward them to the
government. So, for me after going to see the officer in-charge of anti-cult
unit of the state police command, we informed him and he demanded for
N2million. I told him that we had already written to his commissioner. He
replied okay since we have written to the police commissioner.
“I was surprised when on Friday, the day the event was
scheduled to take place at about 6.30am, he came to the venue. I took him to
the restaurant and after discussion he left. The programme continued. We had
charity visitation that day and after the event we came back to the hotel
because we came with our families.” We had our night outing in the hotel. On
Saturday morning, we played our interstate tournament at Ngwo Park under their
supervision because they were following us everywhere we were going. After the
tournament, we returned to the event centre.
“At 3pm, we started our public lecture and they were
inside the hall together with personnel of DSS. After the session, we ended
with closing prayer. We were going to have our entertainment when some of the
men of anti-cult came to me, saying that their Oga said the CP wanted to see me
and four other leaders of the club. That was at 7.30pm. So, we were with them
believing we were going to see the CP when they diverted to the anti-cult unit.
They gave us all the humiliation from that Saturday, before bringing us to
court,” he stated.
It is good to note that De Norsemen Kclub Incorporated is
a registered Non Profit Organisation with the cooperate affairs commission with
registration number RC 7458 and have been engaging in humanitarian services,
prison decongestion through free legal aid and numerous community services
which can be found on our official handles:
Official FB : https://www.facebook.com/denorsemenkclubIncorporated/
Official Twitter: @dnkiofficial , Official
Instagram:@denorsemenkclub
Official Website: www.denorsemenkclub.org
Below is a copy of a similar judgement
obtained from the Calabar High court against the Police when they woefully
arrested the members of the Kclub in 2010
FEDERAL HIGH COURT IN CALABAR DECLARES DE NORSEMEN KCLUB
LEGAL
A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar, presided over
by Justice A.F.A. Ademola had declared that De Norsemen Kclub (DNKI) is a legal
organization under the Nigerian laws.
This was a fall out of the suit with the number,
FHC/CA/M95/2010, some members of the organization in Cross River State after
they were arrested and detained by the police on the sole grounds that they
were members of the organization filed to enforce their fundamental human
rights of freedom of assembly and association which they consider belonging to
DNKI, a duly registered organization with the aim of rendering service to
humanity is part.
It is on record that on the 15th of May, 2010, the
Nigerian police in Calabar arrested 21 members of DNKI on the ground that they
were members at their Cross River State Chapter Secretariat located at 38 MCC
Road, Calabar.
The arrest was carried out after the organization’s
usual saturday sporting activities that took place ironically at the Police
Children Secondary School field in Calabar.
Consequently, the leadership of DNKI felt that they
needed to put the records straight having in mind that DNKI is not an illegal
entity but a duly registered organization with specific aims and objectives
which are in line with the laws of the Nigerian land and that any person that
meet the standard of recruitment into it is free to join and participate in its
activities.
Therefore, its activities are lawful and aim to render
service to humanity which coincidentally is its motto. It was based on this,
the suit was filed at a Federal High Court, Calabar by the 21 arrested members.
In his ruling on the 1st day of July, 2010, Justice A.
F. A. Ademola, declared that the applicants in the suit (i.e the 21 arrested
members) have the right to freedom of peaceful assembly as well as the freedom
of association with others and it is a universally recognized, justiceable and
inalienable fundamental right.
These rights he stated include the right to join an
organization like De Norsemen Kclub which he described as a registered body
under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 1990.
He went further to state that there should be no
restrictions on an individual’s fundamental right to peaceful assembly and
association unless prescribed by law and necessary in the interest of national
security, public safety for the prevention of crime, health, morality or
freedom rights of others.
He cited the following authorities and cases to back up
his declaration:
(i) Section 40 of the CFRN 1999
(ii) Article 10 (1) and 3 of the 1981 ACHPA
(iii) Akaniwo vs. Nsirim (1997) 9 NWLR (Part 520) 255 CA
(iv) Okafor vs. Asoh (1999) 3 NWLR (Part 593) 35 CA
In the course of delivering his judgement, he referred
to exhibits KGA1 and KGA2 which are the constitution of and certificate of
registration of De Norsemen Kclub respectively in the case and opined that
there is no such evidence to the contrary before the court.
Thus, De Norsemen Kclub is a legal entity in which the
applicants in the suit has the right to belong to in exercise of their
fundamental human right of freedom of association and assembly with others.
