Category: Security

  “COMPEL I. G. P. EGBETOKUN TO MAKE BAIL A TRULY FREE AFFAIR IN OUR COUNTRY”,  Comrade Igbotako Nowinta . Social critic and human rights activist, Comrade Igbotako Nowinta, has challenged President Bola Tinubu, to compel the Inspector General of Police, (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, to immediately give directives to make bail a truly free affair in all the police stations across Nigeria. Nowinta, an international conflict resolution expert, who doubles as the Executive – Director, Nigeria Good Governance Research Centre (NGGRC),  disclosed this in an interview with PEOPLE’S STANDARD. In a bold step toward the protection and promotion of human rights in Nigeria, Civil Society activists in Edo/ Delta, successfully secured the unconditional release of two innocent citizens, Umukoro Henry and Godfrey Jonah yesterday, who were wrongfully arrested and detained on allegations of murder, by Officers of the Oghara Police Division, and subsequently transferred to the Delta State Police Command Headquarters, Asaba. According to  Nowinta,” we use this medium to stand shoulder to shoulder with the human rights advocacy campaign titled “BAIL IS FREE”, which was officially launched in Asaba, Delta State capital, a few days ago; and which was led by Rev. David Ugolor, Executive Director, Africa Network for Environment & Economic Justice (ANEEJ)”. “Even as we commend profusely, all the civil society activists that participated in the historic launching of the “Bail Is Free Campaign”, it is a matter of facts that what we see happening within the police stations in Nigeria is utterly disgusting, barbaric and inhuman, where innocent citizens are being subjected to a situation worse than slavery”. “We at the Nigeria Good Governance Research Centre (NGGRC), are worried that the issue of bail is a national torment, which has become a ticket pass to instant wealth by some police officers in Nigeria, who are now monsters that wears the cloak of law enforcement agencies. Using the instrumentality of ‘bail is free’, these unscrupulous police officers, such that played out glaringly in Asaba, Delta State, have transformed into dynamites killing our people systematically and remorsefully”. “It is sad to note that the foundation of democracy is crumbling here, as the cabal currently in control is doing everything possible to move in the direction of one party state, while the vulnerable are constantly under severe attack and intimidation from some rogue police officers, using bail as a destructive weapon to impoverish and incapacitate innocent law abiding citizens”. “Indeed, the bail issue has become one of the humiliating savagery happening under our noses; it lingers in echoes of excruciating pains and oppression; this is one of the deepest pictures of man’s inhumanity to man in our clime. Simply put, the police system has become a scourge to countless Nigerians, via the evil negative application of the mechanism of bail”. “Therefore, we call on President Bola Tinubu to act now without delay! This government must commit itself to truth, justice, transparency and national development, by ordering the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to immediately issue a directive to all police formations in the country cum put in place a crack monitoring team, to stop the gigantic sleaze being practiced against our people. This is the time to stop oppression, repression and exploitation of innocent Nigerians by some criminal police officers. Bail should be made a truly free affair in our country!”

The Executive Director, Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, the Rev. David Ugolor, has offered in-depth insights into Governor Monday Okpebholo’s evolving security plan for Edo State. Speaking from Banjul, The Gambia, where he was attending a regional human rights workshop, in a widely televised appearance on the TVC Breakfast show, Rev. Ugolor welcomed the Governor’s multi-stakeholder security consultation involving traditional rulers, political leaders, and security agencies, describing it as a bold expression of political will. He underscored that lasting security requires strong synergy with local communities, improved data gathering, and the revival of community security networks that flourished under previous administrations, which significantly curtailed kidnapping and violence across the state. While acknowledging the recently signed Edo State Kidnapping Prohibition Amendment Law 2025, which includes the death penalty for convicted offenders, Ugolor urged caution. He argued that while the law may signal zero tolerance for insecurity, capital punishment is not a fissionable deterrence from the standpoint of right to life and the sanctity of human life. Instead, he called for increased investment in intelligence-led policing, leveraging Edo State’s security vote transparently to support traditional and community-based security architectures. He warned that rising crime threatens Edo’s attractiveness to investors and proposed innovative alternatives like whistleblower incentives and independent response units to restore public trust and safety.