Activist lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) yesterday berated the police for arraigning Senator Dino Melaye in court on a stretcher.
In a statement, Falana said: “The arraignment of Senator Dino Melaye on a stretcher in Abuja on Wednesday and Lokoja on Thursday morning is unacceptable in a civilised society.
“It is particularly degrading and humiliating as it violates the fundamental right to the dignity of his person guaranteed by Section 34 of the constitution and Section 7 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.”
The SAN described Melaye’s ordeal as a reflection of the suffering of ordinary Nigerians in the hands of security agents on a daily basis.
Another senior advocate, Mr. Jibrin Okutepa, also faulted the senator’s arraignment on a stretcher, describing it as bad for Nigeria’s image.
He said the police should have waited for the senator to recover before arraigning him.
To Okutepa, the manner Melaye was treated was humiliating and suggested that he was being persecuted.
He said: “I watched with keen interest the manner in which Senator Melaye is being arraigned on stretcher in courts. I’m not too sure this drama is not damaging our image as a nation. “
