There are indications that the legal battle to free hardline Ben Ayade critic, Paul Oden Ifere, will commence today, Monday, October 23, 2017, with the filing of a motion on notice at the Federal High Court, Abuja, in an application for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of Ifere, www.calitown.com can reveal.
We also gathered that Ifere’s legal representatives, pursuant to Order 11, Rules 1 & 2 of the fundamental rights enforcement procedure rule, 2009, sections 34 and 35 of the 1999 constitution, are seeking an order, directing the Inspector General of Police, IG, his agents, servants and privies (including but not limited to the CRS Police Command) to forthwith release Ifere from custody at Diamond Hill, Calabar.
His legal representatives are also seeking that, the IG be restrained from further arresting and detaining him unlawfully in any police formation within Nigeria and particularly in CRS. They also want his arrest and detention declared unlawful and unconstitutional. While it was not clear at press time if the notice has reached the IG, it is expected that legal punches will be freely thrown as the seeming Cross River State sponsored arrest and detention of Ifere continues.
Meanwhile, police sources in Abuja and Calabar confirmed to www.calitown.com that Paul Ifere had earlier written a petition to the IG, fingering the CRS Security Adviser, Jude Ngaji and the Chief of Staff to Governor Ben Ayade, Martin Orim, as being the architects of a plot to eliminate him. It was on the strength of the petition that Ngaji and Orim were invited to the Police Force headquarters Abuja for a chat with detectives. An audio recording obtained by www.calitown.com appears to also be part of the bits and pieces of evidence that may have been handed the police. In the said recording, an informant can be heard informing Ifere over the phone that the duo of Ngaji and Orim will eliminate him.
While we have been unable to authenticate the information contained in the recording, when Ngaji was contacted, he came clear that “…I have no reason to sit and plan evil against Ifere. Long before now he had written on social media that I go around begging politicians for money and I just ignored him, he has cast aspersions on my person and I just ignored him. I have better and serious things to do than sit and plan evil against anyone”. Orim was unavailable at press time.
