US-based foundation offers detained Anambra native doctors legal services
A charity foundation and equal rights group based in the United States of America, Tilova for Africa, has offered to pay for the services of lawyers who will defend the rights of over 30 native doctors arrested and detained by the Anambra State government.
The Chief Executive Officer of Tilova for Africa, Martins Nwabueze, stated this in Awka on Monday, while addressing journalists amidst widespread reactions trailing the heavy clampdown on native doctors across the state.
It was gathered that no fewer than 30 native doctors have been arrested and detained by the state government since the state assembly passed the Anambra Homeland Security Law in January as part of efforts to tackle insecurity.
Recall that the state commissioner for information, Dr Law Mefor, has confirmed that notable native doctors such as Chiedozie Nwangwu, popularly known as “Akwa okuko tiwaraki”, Onyebuchi Okocha, and 28 other native doctors were still in detention and undergoing investigation for allegedly preparing charms for criminals.
Nwabueze, who was reacting to these developments, described the arrest and detention of persons based on their religion or trade under the guise of fighting insecurity by the Anambra government as “unjust profiling.”
He said, “As a foundation, we shall work to ensure that these people enjoy equal rights like others, so, we are volunteering to provide free legal services for these people.
“We are aware of the enormous safety concerns in Anambra, but we should not allow the cyber antics of a few clowns parading as native doctors to make us enact laws that could impact the way of life and belief system of a people negatively.
“Nigeria is a secular state where everyone had rights to practice his or her religion or ply his or her trade without discrimination, intimidation, humiliation or scapegoating.”
He added that traditional medicine practice is an age-long profession which existed in many African societies and should not be abolished in Anambra because of presumptive evidence.
Nwabueze said his group was in total support of whatever would bring peace and security in Anambra, but insisted that nobody or group should be discriminated against because of their religion.
He urged the Anambra State government to release the native doctors if there was no evidence against them instead of keeping them perpetually in detention.
“Tilova for Africa has followed the development in Anambra State with concern; while we support the state governor on the effort to make the state safe and secure, we condemn the crackdown on indigenous religious practices in the State.
“The arrest and continued detention of over 30 native doctors by the Anambra State government just because it presumes that they prepare charms for criminals is not tenable.
“This type of crime fighting is primitive and unacceptable in 21st century Nigeria; we support the government to arrest crime and not content creators,” he added.
Nwabueze called on Soludo to invest in tech-driven security architecture with adequately trained manpower to ensure that only culprits were arrested, detained and prosecuted.
