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| Iyabo |
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| L-R: The late Asubairo and late Femi |
Those were the poignant words of Mrs. Iyabo Ganzalo before she broke down and wept like her heart was breaking.
Iyabo’s son was among three young men killed on the Lagos Island last year. Indeed, he was the last to be killed in that dark year. Others are Suleiman Badmus and Rasheed Oludegun.
Iyabo’s son, Adeniyi Asubiaro was shot to death by a trigger-happy cop, while he was relaxing in front of his home after a power outage. Mr. Badmus was chased by policemen from where he was watching a football match, until he fell into the lagoon and drowned. Mr. Oludegun was shot and killed in a naming ceremony. Oludegun’s wife, who was on admission in a hospital, promptly died when she heard about the death of her husband.
But the present IGP, Suleiman Abba, had not showed any sign that he saw or received any of our petitions. And we’ve written several!” He said that police authority and police oversight agencies, particularly, Police Service Commission (PSC), have failed woefully in their statutory duties of ensuring that complaints were properly and effectively investigated so that perpetrators would be brought to book and victims get redress and compensation.”
Nwanguma further noted: “We have, therefore, remained committed to our undertaking to consistently and systematically monitor, document, verify and publicise cases that come to our attention. Bringing cases to public knowledge and stimulates public debate on them, which help to put authorities under pressure to fulfill their obligations, under local and international human rights law, to ensure effective investigation of all cases of police brutality, torture, extra judicial killing and enforced disappearance, corruption or attempt to compromise investigation of complaints.”
Iyabo’s son, Asubiaro, an Information Technologist, was shot dead by a Police Inspector attached to the Lion Building Police Division. The policeman was said to be chasing after some youths at a birthday party. Residents in the area said that the killer cop is Mr. Hakeem Sodiq, nicknamed sergeant Skoda’.
A human right activist, Prince Mukaila Apata Akinsemoyin, who is also a former policeman, said residents on the Island were sick and tired of the reckless shooting and killing of people by policemen. “The police have killed three people just within a year, in the same area. The police authority said they don’t know any Hakeem, but it’s a lie! Everybody knows him. I’m sorry to say, but that policeman is notorious! I don’t know if he had been promoted, but I know that he is still working at the Lion Building, ‘Area A Police Command.’ I even know him myself,” he said.
Asubiaro’s wife, Idayat, was eight months pregnant at the time her husband was killed. Iyabo now sells groceries at King’s College Hostel and presently taking care of Asubiaro’s widow and baby.
Iyabo said: “Hakeem Sodiq opened fire while chasing some youths having a birthday party. He killed my son! My son was not an armed robber. He was working and the police took his life. It’s not good for the police to be shooting recklessly in area where people live. They always end up killing people. They would then turn around to lie that the deceased was an armed robber. All I want now is justice.”
Akinsemoyin, who has been cataloguing police killings in the area, explained that prior to Asubiaro’s death, police officers attached to the same Lion Building invaded the venue of a naming ceremony, opened fire for no reason and killed Oludegun. Before the shooting, the policemen were said to have invaded the ceremony, claiming they sighted someone smoking Indian hemp on the street.
They tried to disrupt the ceremony, but the celebrant, Mr. Lean, gave them N5000 which they accepted. He also gave them food and drink, after which they left.
Akinsemoyin said: “Few minutes later, the same patrol team came back to the venue and started shooting sporadically into the crowd. Oludegun was shot and died on the spot. One Saheed Dosunmu was also hit by a bullet on his left arm. The police men escaped. When the angry crowd saw another police patrol team coming, they attacked the policemen and burnt their vehicle.When the news of Oludegun’s death reached his wife who was on admission at the General Hospital, she died immediately. The policeman who killed Oludegun is nicknamed ‘Up Chelsea.”
Recalling how Badmus died, Akinsemoyin said that on July 19, 2014, some youths were watching television at a viewing centre, when a policeman, nicknamed Ballo, stormed the area with his team and opened fire.
Everyone scampered off, fearful of stray bullets, but unsure why the policemen were shooting. Badmus was one of those that ran for his life. Policemen chased after him until he fell into the lagoon. He drowned. His corpse was fished out three days later by fishermen. His family members identified his corpse.
“The matter was reported at Ebute Ero Police Station, but the Divisional Police Officer, is trying to cover up. The cop who led the team that chased the boy into the lagoon is attached to Ebute Ero Police Station. He is still working there even after his dastardly action,” said Akinsemoyin.
The activist is angry that these cases are being handled with levity by police authorities, while so many others had been swept under the carpet.
Noting another case of police impunity, Nwanguma said that one Chinagorom Ihejiagwa, a 31-year-old businessman, was arrested last year , and till date, is still being held by operatives of SARS, Awkuzu, Anambra State.
Nwanguma said that NOPRIN received information sometime in June 2014, that Chinagorom and his wife, Ifeyinwa Ihejiagwa, then, a nursing mother of a month old baby, were arrested and detained on May 29, 2014 by some operatives of SARS, Awkuzu, Anambra State.
They were arrested by some police officers, one of whom was identified simply as ‘Pele.’ Chinagorom was taken away without being informed of his offence.
Chinagorom’s wife was detained overnight, released the next day and she reported that she was ‘physically and emotionally molested,’ adding that one of the officers slapped her.
But Chinagorom has, since the past 10 months, remained in the custody of the SARS without charge.
“His family members and counsel were not allowed access to him despite several efforts. His younger brother reported being told by the O/C SARS, Mr. James Nwafor that ‘we will kill him because he is a confessed kidnapper’. His family believes that he had been tortured to make ‘confessions’, as is the common practice in SARS.”
NOPRIN was further informed that prior to Chinagorom’s arrest, ‘Pele’ called him many times, accusing him of having bought a stolen vehicle and demanded that he should bring his ‘own share’.
Chinagorom denied the allegation of buying any stolen vehicle and said he had nothing to give to ‘Pele’. It was after several futile efforts by ‘Pele’ to extract from Chinagorom his ‘share’ of what he believed to be the proceeds of crime that he masterminded his arrest and detention, labelling him a ‘kidnapper’.
Nwanguma said: “The O/C SARS, CSP James Nwafor, has continued to disregard court orders that the police should either release him on bail or produce him before a court for trial to determine his guilt or innocence in accordance with due process.
An Anambra State High Court, on June 30, 2014 ordered the police to grant him bail or produce him before the Court within seven days.
In its judgement of November 27, 2014, on the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Action filed on behalf of the victim, the same court ordered the Anambra State Commissioner of Police and, in particular, the O/C SARS, Awkuzu, Anambra State to release Chinagorom on bail or bring him before the Court.
“The Court declared illegal and unconstitutional, the continued detention of the victim. However, the O/C SARS says the court orders have no meaning, since, as he claims, a nonexistent Anambra State law permits the police to act above the law.”
Nwanguma said that on June 12, 2014, NOPRIN wrote to the former IGP Abubakar, concerning this case and numerous other disturbing complaints of gross abuse of human rights, misuse of police powers, breach of legally established procedures for arrests and detention and flagrant disobedience to Court Orders by police officers at SARS, Awkuzu Anambra State under the supervision of CSP Nwafor James (O.C. SARS).
“NOPRIN received no reply and did not know of any action taken in response to that petition,” said Nwanguma. “NOPRIN had again, written to the current IGP on the same subject, calling on him to take urgent and decisive actions to check the excesses of CSP James Nwafor and bring an end to the brutality, gross misconduct, corrupt activities and impunity at SARS Awkuzu.”
He said that the indefinite detention, incommunicado, of Chinagorom in disobedience to a Court Order and a Court Judgement illustrated the impunity in Awkzu SARS.
He added: “We hereby call on the IGP to make a statement concerning the continued detention of Chinagorom in utter and flagrant contempt of a court judgement. We renew our call on the IGP to order an investigation into the activities of CSP James Nwafor (O/C SARS) and check the impunity at SARS.”
He held that abuse and misconduct remain widespread as could be seen from the distribution of cases across different states of Nigeria. Another tragic and saddening police killing was that of Femi Bello, an undergraduate. Bello died in police custody at Mararaba Police Division, Nasarawa State. He had just completed his 300 level examinations, being a student in the Department of Economics, Kaduna State University. He was 31 years old.
The account of the circumstances leading to his arrest and eventual death, as narrated by his mother and younger brother, Biodun and corroborated by the family lawyer, Nanpon Wuypo, is that Femi left his school in Kaduna and travelled to Abuja on December 4, 2014, to execute a contract to produce some printed materials which he does to pay his school fees.
Femi’s father died four months earlier. On arrival, he first went to his family house at Bwari Area Council of Abuja around 2pm so see his mother, but she was not around and he told his siblings that he was going to see a friend of his who lives at Mararaba Area of Karu LGA of Nassarawa State. Family members were worried when Femi did not come back later that day.
The following day when they received information about Femi’s arrest and detention at Mararaba Police Station, the family stormed the station, but were told that Femi had died.
Nwanguma said: “The family is sad that the police murdered their innocent son in cold-blood, but even more troubled that the police have also maligned him in death by branding him an ‘armed robber’. They are determined to prove their son’s innocence and to redeem the family’s dented name. The family demands the prosecution of the perpetrators of this act.”
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