Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), on Thursday, told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to release Shehu Sani, or charge him to court.
Sani was arrested by the anti-graft agency on December 31, 2019, in Kaduna, over alleged extortion of $20,000 (N7.2m), from Sanu Dauda, owner of ASD Motors.
The activist, who represented Kaduna Central in the last senate, has since been in EFCC custody. His house in Abuja was reportedly searched on Wednesday by officials of the agency in connection with the allegation.
However, SERAP in a statement by Yinka Olomojobi, accused the EFCC of violating both the national and international law for detaining Sani.
The group asked the agency to release Shehu from detention.
“The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should immediately release activist, Senator Shehu Sani detained on allegations of extortion or charge him with a recognizable criminal offence.
“By prolonging his detention without charge or trial, Mr Sani is being treated like a convicted criminal, in violation of national and international law.
“The continued detention of Mr Sani without charge is against the principle of being innocent until proven guilty.
“The right to personal liberty is one of the most central human rights as it is connected to the essential rudiments of an individual’s physical freedom.
“The right to liberty requires that the arrest or detention of an individual must be in accordance to the law.
“The right therefore, protects the individual against the excesses of the government and its agents,” he said.
According to SERAP, the right to personal liberty is essentially a personal freedom, in which no government can abridge.
“This right is juxtaposed with other human rights and can be formally traced back to the English Magna Carta of 1215,” it added.
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