Army sued for arresting wife of soldier who lambasted Buratai

The wife of a soldier, Mrs Victoria Idakpini, and her husband, Lance Corporal Martins Idakpani, have sued the Nigerian Army, the Chief of Army Staff and the Attorney-General of the Federation for breach of fundamental human rights.

Mrs Idakpini was arrested last week barely days after her husband, Lance Corporal Idakpani, berated the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.Gen Tukur Buratai; and the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin, in a video which went viral on the Internet.

In the video, the soldier called on his superiors to resign as they had failed in the war against terrorism.

In the suit filed on their behalf by their lawyer, Mr Tope Akinyode, the applicants are seeking an order to compel the respondents to release her immediately.

The couple, in a supporting affidavit deposed to on their behalf by one Apeh Abuchi, said they had been denied access to a lawyer and had not been informed of the alleged crime they committed since their arrest last week.

In a signed statement on Monday, Akinyode, who is the National President, Revolutionary Lawyers’ Forum, described the continued detention as illegal.

The lawyer said in a statement, “We have just filed an action at the Federal High Court against the Nigerian Army, Chief of Army Staff and the Attorney of the Federation of Nigeria over the unlawful arrest and detention of Lance Corporal Martins and his Wife, Mrs Victoria Idakpini.”