Lawyers, activists, fans blast Nigerian Army for arresting Chiwetalu Agu
The Nigerian Army has come under heavy criticisms over the arrest of Nollywood veteran Chiwetalu Agu.
Agu said he was arrested while giving out loaves of bread to the less privileged in Onitsha, Anambra state.
But the military accused him of soliciting for the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist group the government has banned.
The movie veteran, who was clad in Biafra-inspired colours while carrying out his reported charity work, questioned the legality of his arrest.
“I was sharing bread at Upper Iweka when I was taken away,” he said in an Instagram video.
“I was not campaigning or asking people to join Biafra. This is a civil dress.”
Activist-lawyer Inibehe Effiong condemned the arrest, describing it as “illegal, unconscionable and unwarranted”.
“The actor has not committed any criminal offence known to law,” Effiong said in a statement.
Concerned Nigerians convener, Deji Adeyanju, also decried the arrest, accusing the military of practising double standards.
“(This is) the same army that organises Repentance Red Carpet ceremony for Boko Haram terrorists,” he said, comparing Agu’s arrest with the way the Nigerian government treats ‘repentant’ insurgents.
Agu’s fans and other Nigerians, Friday, took to social media to condemn the development as the veteran actor spent a first night in military detention.
