Human rights lawyer, Abba Hikima, has urged the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, to urgently intervene in the case of Maryam Isah Shehu, a final-year student of Bayero University, Kano, who is being detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Hikima, in a statement on Thursday, alleged that the EFCC detained Shehu for 35 days before filing a single-count charge against her, describing the development as a possible violation of due process and her fundamental rights.
According to the lawyer, the charge was filed less than 24 hours after concerns were publicly raised about the student’s continued detention without trial.
He said the development raised questions about why she was kept in custody for more than one month before the prosecution brought the matter before a court.
Hikima said the allegation against Shehu reportedly arose from social media comments in which she accused an EFCC zonal director of corruption.
He questioned whether the allegations against the official had been independently investigated and whether the outcome of such an investigation had been made known.
He argued that while Shehu was arrested and detained over the allegation, the substance of the corruption claim appeared not to have received the same level of attention.
He called for a transparent investigation to establish the facts surrounding the allegations.The lawyer further alleged that the EFCC served the charge on Shehu’s legal team only on the eve of her arraignment, arguing that this gave her lawyers inadequate time to properly prepare and make a strong case for her bail.
Hikima maintained that a charge filed after 35 days of detention could not retrospectively justify the period the student had already spent in custody. He also argued that a prosecuting agency should not rely on procedural delays allegedly created by its own actions to oppose an application for bail.
He therefore called on the Attorney-General, as Nigeria’s Chief Law Officer, to review the circumstances surrounding the case and ensure that the rights of the defendant are protected. He warned that the handling of such cases could have implications for Nigeria’s human rights obligations and international reputation.
Hikima also demanded the immediate grant of bail to Shehu and an independent investigation into the corruption allegations she reportedly made against the EFCC official.
The EFCC had, as of the time of the report, not publicly responded to the lawyer’s allegations concerning the detention, timing of the charge or status of the corruption claims
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