Democracy Day: Free me from Kuje Prison - Activist cries out to Tinubu

By Stanley Onyekwere

Ahuman rights activist, Mubarak Bala, in his 37th month incarceration in Kuje Prison in Abuja, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu, to grant him and some other inmates eligible for amnesty, in the spirit of the June 12 Democracy Day anniversary.

Bala, who alleged that he was unjustly imprisoned in Kuje Prison, was formerly in Kano prison, passionately begged the President to release him, so he could go back home to his family, society, and seek medical help, as well as further his education.

In an open letter to the President, the Convict, however discloaed that his appeal to the federal courts in Kano have never been heard nor admitted, and will not be at least for another year.

According to the letter dated 29th of May, 2023, originally handwritten, was typed and released to the Press yesterday by his lawyer/wife, the activist, described himself as a prisoner of conscience, sought after only because he refused to follow the religion he was born into, especially coming from descendants of the 1804 conquerors.

He said: “I’m a convict, which makes me eligible for your pen to sign my freedom. My appeal to the federal courts in Kano have never been heard nor admitted, and will not be at least for another year I learnt, Femi Falana SAN stands to represent me, which I hope will annul everything including the conviction, and reparations paid to me for the damages, and time served.

“My wife was summoned at the twilight of the last administration, that she, and my sister should come and collect me, that everything has been finalized, she spent money and left her work: being asked to wait further two days, further two days, another two days, until the government ended and she was asked to go that she will be called again. She wasn’t, now they are out of office, so please end this appalling injustice.

“ Sir, let me go back home and observe life without interfering with some people’s way of subjugation, in the long run, I may be able to help, if I grow wings, nails, clout, as well as canine to climb higher than the prey I now am to the wicked.”

The letter read: “Dear Mr. President, Your Excellency sir, I am hereby drafting a handwritten note from my jail cell, on occasion of your inauguration as our new leader, to lead us through the next four or eight years. But given the chain this letter has to be relayed, it may reach your desk on or beyond our democracy day, this is also so as to allow you some time to settle in the new seat for the tough job.

“Sir, this is my 37th month unjustly imprisoned in Abuja, formerly in Kano prison. Back in 2013 sir, when I tried to intimate my immediate family that I have left the religion long ago during my University years, I was immediately put in a psychiatric hospital by my father and uncles, in connivance with a friendly-doctor, even as another doctor from same hospital has a year prior, assured them that I am sane and smart, and that all they need to do is preach to or pray for me, but within a year in 2014, the delicate peace and diplomacy, proselytizing, sanctions and threats, deteriorated to an attempted brain castration, a calculated, sinister chemically induced lobotomy, in same Kano State, at a federal hospital, they later said it was simply to protect me as the media came to probe, and that it was an internal family affair which requires respect to their privacy. And so, the media stayed off.

“They violently sedated me, force-fed me drugs meant for epileptic patients, (I wasn’t ever epileptic), another for schizophrenic patients, I was not maniacal, and yet another as antipsychotics. I have had none of these symptoms but I was sedated and kept for weeks until I wrote emails globally to seek help and I got rescued.

“It is worthy of your notice Mr. President, for this crime, no one was arrested, no one was punished, and no one lost their license, I was simply discharged quietly from the hospital, begged to forgive and forgo, and then later betrayed and disowned and threatened further as the news broke out to the larger society.

“Since then, I have received constant death threats so much that I got used to it, sometimes illiterate morons, other times by seemingly university educated folks who have chosen the path of radicalism, instead of tolerance, ordinary civilians and clerics that inspired jihadism among our youths, only to leave the doctrine with the followers and come back to counter it hypocritically

“I wish you a happy democracy day. I commiserate with you over this tough job you got for yourself. I wish you good health, great courage, good ideas and deeper insight. May all the Nigerian imaginary-Gods see you through it all. I don’t care if foreign gods(as imagined) come to our rescue, because for now, ‘they’ have failed our people and caused fatal divisions between our diverse people in this great land...and as such do not deserve our attention, nor our reverence.”

Land encroachment: Gov’t recovers 500 plots from Katampe inhabitants

By Stanley Onyekwere

In furtherance to its clean up exercise in Gishiri community, of Katampe District, the Federal Capital Territory Administration has purportedly reclaimed no fewer than 500 plots of land from individuals suspected to be victims of land grabbing activities in the area.

This was disclosed by the Deputy Director, Monitoring and Inspection, FCT Department of Development Control, Hassan Ogbole during the exercise, which was third in series of recent.

He said the illegal structures and other activities in the area affected the Abuja master plan and must be dismantled to restore the sanity.

According to him, “This is our third time of visiting Gishiri in continuation of the city clean up to restore the Abuja master plan. Gishiri is a traditional name but the area is Katampe District, we have recovered over 500 plots of land for individuals to take possession.

“We are concerned with recovering plots taken over illegally by some persons for different purposes, to restore the Abuja master plan”

Ogbole called on the genuine owners of the plots to commence work immediately to stop the return of illegal structures.

“Individuals that are allottees of the plots should take them over immediately to avoid new illegal developments, let the owners come in and start developing”.

Similarly, Deputy Director, Monitoring and enforcement, Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), Bello Kaka, stressed the need to sustain mopping of an unauthorised activities anywhere in the nation’s capital.

He adds:”Anything that is contrary to the standard would not be allowed. We will keep the fight against environmental nuisances till the right thing is done”.

On his part, the Secretary, Command and Control, FCTA Department of Security, Peter Olumiji, noted that the administration is concerned with having a secured environment for the residents, and would not allowed illegal structures to thrive.

“Allowing illegal structures to remain, will continue to provide ground for criminals to exist, we can’t leave such structures that will become safe heaven for bad eggs.We had such experience in Gishiri in the past.

“Removing of the illegal structures will make criminals not to have a place to hide and carry out their evil activities,