“Rights Group Demands Release of Truck Driver Detained Over a Month Without Charges”

A truck driver, Timothy Maamo Tersugh, has been held by the police for over a month without being formally charged, a situation described by rights activists as unlawful detention. He was initially arrested after a road accident in Akwanga, Nasarawa State, and later transferred from Jos to the FCID Annex in Enugu.

According to the rights group Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), the arrest appears to have been prompted by his employer, A.G. Leventis Limited, which accused him of diverting and selling beer he was transporting. However, when police investigators returned to the scene, they reportedly found no evidence supporting the company’s claim, deeming the incident a minor accident.

Despite the apparent lack of evidence and a recommendation that the case be treated as bailable, the police denied bail and kept him in custody. Over two weeks after being moved to Enugu, he remains detained without any formal charge.

CRRAN argues that detaining him in Enugu — far from where the accident happened — violates principles of justice and constitutional rights. In a petition to police authorities, the group demanded his “immediate and unconditional release,” and urged authorities to transfer any further investigation back to Nasarawa State, where the accident occurred. They also called for an investigation into the company’s role in allegedly abusing the police to punish the driver.

The driver’s family has expressed distress, saying they have been kept uninformed about his condition since the transfer. Legal experts note that, under Nigerian law, suspects should be brought before a court within 24–48 hours — except under exceptional circumstances — raising concerns that the police’s continued detention of Mr. Tersugh amounts to a violation of his constitutional rights.