By Emma Amaize
WARRI- DELTA State Police Command and the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, CDHR, in the state are at loggerheads over the rights of citizens to carry out protests on the streets without legal permit.

While the spokesman of the police, Mr. Charles Muka said that the security agency had not granted permit to anybody or group in the state to go in any form of procession and that any person(s) caught would be dealt with, the chairman of the CDHR, Mr. Benefit Orugbo insisted that “no law in this country prevents any peaceful protest of citizens”

Muka was speaking on the spate of protests in Delta state after the incumbent governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan was announced as the winner of the April 26 governorship poll in the state, while Mr. Orugbo spoke against the background of the arrest and detention of five women: Mrs. Mary Obruche, Mrs. Vera Obeh, Mrs. Ejiro Tony, Lady Franca Esealuka and Mrs. Yaba Gege, who were nabbed Udu, Effurun and Warri for causing breach of public peace with their protests over the outcome of the election.

Vanguard learnt that the women who were detained for about 48 hours were released, May 1, and warned to be of good behavior and also not allow themselves to be used by disgruntled politicians to cause disturbance in the state.

But the CDHR chairman, Mr. Orugbo who spoke to newsmen after their release said, “We are in receipt of complaint from a group of Delta women – “Concerned Women of Delta State” who suffered inhuman, brutalization of their persons and deprivation of their personal dignity and liberty in the hands of the police in Warri for daring to embark on a peaceful protest along the Streets of Udu, Effurun and Warri to protest the just concluded gubernatorial election in Delta State owing to their claim that the gubernatorial election of 26th April, 2011 in Delta State was massively rigged by the ruling party in favour of their candidate at the expense of other candidates in that election and the popular choice of all Deltans”.

“In the compliant of the concerned women, they claimed that from facts at their disposal, the gubernatorial election fell far short of the much acclaimed credible, free and fair elections INEC Chairman, Prof. Attaihiru Jega, promised Deltans in particular and by extension Nigerians in general, noting that their decision to embark on a peaceful protest of that election in Warri is that they would not be slaves in their own state and watch the future of their children manipulated and hijacked by the cabals in the state”.

“To compound their already traumatized situation, the police hierarchy instigated their police men in Warri to beat up the women and eventually arrested five of them, to wit: (1) Mrs. Mary Obruche (2) Mrs. Vera Obeh (3) Mrs. Ejiro Tony (4) Lady Franca Esealuka and (5) Mrs. Yaba Gege at the Area command Warri on Saturday the 29th day of April, 2011 and were later transferred to the state police force headquarters, Asaba where they were further detained till the night of 1st of May, 2011”, he said.

His words, “The CDHR, Delta Chapter holds the firm view that no law in this country prevents any peaceful protest of citizens and to say the least, the brutalization, deprivation of the women to embark on a peaceful protest and the arrest of women who embarked on peaceful protest by men of the police force is condemnable and should be condemned by all Nigerians”.

“We are not in the military era where the running of the state is militarized. We make bold to say that we will ensure that the rights of the women are duly observed, those involved in the said brutalization are brought to book and adequate compensation paid through the due process of law”, he asserted.