20th September, 2011
A lawyer, Folorunso E.O. Ogunnekun Esq of F.E. Ogunnekun and Co., has appealed to the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service to prevail on Mr. Edike C.B, the Compt. Of Tin Can Island Port, Apapa, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, to release his clients who he unjustly detained .
Ogunnekun in a letter dated September 10, 2011, accused Edike of detaining his clients namely Basit Bello, Tunde Haruna, Sunkanmi Olaolu and Kehinde Badmus for 25 days at the Enforcement Unit of the port, in violation of section 36 of the 1999 constitution.
According to Ogunnekun,”sometime in july, our clients were alleged to have stood sureties for one of their friends accused by the Tin Can Island customs officers of committing an undisclosed offence.
But the accused whom they stood sureties for could not report back to the unit again.
“On this strength in July, Mr. Edike ordered the arrest and detention of our clients who are sureties. Surprisingly, he refused to admit our clients to customs bail pending when they shall be arraigned properly before the court of law.
“We are constrained to inform you that he delightfully detained our clients for 25 days at the Enforcement Unit of Tin Can Port cell. After so much pressure, he ordered their release on 26 August and directed that they should be reporting on Mondays and Fridays at the enforcement unit of the Nigerian Customs, Apapa,” he stated.
He added that on 5 September at about 9 a.m. his clients were detained again by the port’s enforcement unit on the order of Edike, adding that all entreaties to get them released on bail were been rebuffed by him.