The House of Representatives on Tuesday asked the inspector-general of police Usman Alkali to stop the media trials being conducted for a murder suspect Chidinma Ojukwu.
Ms Ojukwu, 21, recently spoke with Crime Reporters where she recanted her admission of guilt in the murder of Super TV CEO Usifo Ataga.
At plenary on Tuesday, Hon. Tolu Akande-Sadipe in a motion moved under matters of urgent public importance urged the IGP to ensure Ojukwu’s rights are not violated and to forestall media access to arrested persons in the future to avoid compromising such cases in a court of law.
Sadipe said that “since the arrest of Ms. Chidinma Ojukwu, she has been paraded around, granting interviews to various several news platforms, including the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), on the matter, causing the internet and news media to be agog with the discussion and dissecting the matter. This is despite the fact that the Police have already launched an investigation into the matter.”
“If Ms. Ojukwu continues to be paraded about for a social media trial, it could affect the determination and outcome of the case, as well as amount to a breach of her fundamental right to fair hearing, especially where she is labelled or treated as one guilty of a crime,” she added.
The motion was adopted when subjected to a voice vote by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.
