No fewer than 48 civil society organisations (CSOs) have called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, to urgently investigate the odd hour attack on the Lagos home of the Executive Director, Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), Olarenwaju Suraju.

In a statement made available to The Guardian, yesterday, the CSOs, led by Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Lagos, expressed shock over the March 28, 2022 raid on Suraju’s home by armed men, who tied him and his wife up and subjected them to inhuman treatment before their children.

Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, stated: “We are informed that about five armed men broke into Suraju’s home on the said day and subjected him and his wife to verbal threats and severe beatings. The attackers also took away valuables such as phones, laptops and a car.

“This attack and the dispossession of the Surajus of sensitive personal items have left the family traumatised and exposed them to further risks of the likelihood of invasion and illegal access to their private data, including bank information.”

The CSOs suspected the attack was political, as out of the estate’s over 200 houses, only Suraju’s residence was broken into.

He added: “They also made comments that gave them away as agents acting on behalf and at the behest of a politically-exposed person or persons who had occupied public offices in Nigeria whom Suraju’s and HEDA’s anti-corruption campaigns have affected unfavourably or not gone down well with. 

“We also note that this attack is coming on the heels of the ongoing apparently malicious prosecution and harassment of Suraju for opening the can of worms on the Malabu deal, which named former Attorney-General of the Federation as a beneficiary.”

According to the groups, this attack highlights the level of threats that anti-corruption activists face, and the extent to which desperate public officials accused of corruption and being called to account could go to silence those who muster the courage to demand accountability in the use of public resources.

They described the invasion of Surajus’ home and attack on his family members as criminal and forebodes great danger to the safety of law-abiding and patriotic citizens, who engage in legitimate campaigns for integrity and accountability in the management of public resources 

If this grievous crime is not investigated and the perpetrators brought to account, the CSOs warned, the anti-corruption mantra of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government would end up as sheer hypocrisy, while individuals and organisations genuinely committed to assisting the government fight against corruption would be discouraged. 
 
Other groups in the coalition include Centre for Citizens’ Rights Lafia, Nasarawa State; Grassroots Development Monitoring and Advocacy Centre; Onyigbuo Stephen Uche, Private Citizen, Enugu State; COMPPART Foundation for Justice and Peacebuilding, Akwa Ibom State; Initiative for Social Development in Africa (iSODAF); Initiative for Gender Equality and Advancement, Edo State.

The rest include Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO); Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, Lokoja, Kogi State; Bauchi Human Rights Network; Vision Spring Initiatives; Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Abia State and Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP).