Extrajudicial kiliings: SARS and disappearing suspects (2)

 

 FIRST PUBLISHED IN 2014

Why do men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, kill suspects in their custody? That is the big question that is left hanging in the air as more families recount their ordeal in the hands of policemen, over family members, who have vanished from the surface of the earth. JULIANA FRANCIS continues the story from last week.

 
Police wasted my son’s life – Mrs Catherine Ako
When Michael wanted to explain further, an ASP with them, named Samuel, told him that if he opened his mouth again, he would mow him down, right in front of his family. My son started crying like a baby. “When Samuel asked for the key to my son’s room, I went to bring the key. Before I could come with the key, Samuel had smashed the door with his leg.
He entered the room and started packing my son’s property. He packed the refridgerator, air conditioner, in fact, everything. Even the money I gave my son in the morning, which he promised he would go and pay in the afternoon, to Madam Beauty, was collected by Samuel. I thought that since they would be going to the police station, that everything would be sorted out there.
“ASP Samuel also took boxers and sandals which my son just bought, which he had not worn. He took a perfume which one of my friends bought overseas and gave to me, which I gave to Michael. Michael looked at Samuel and asked, ‘brother, what crime did I commit that you’re taking all my property,’ and Samuel replied, ‘when we get to SARS, you’ll know.’ “As they were taking him away, my son said we should bring food to him.
He said that since yesterday that he was arrested, police had not given him any food. Immediately we dressed and rushed down to SARS. We were there from that morning until 11:30pm. Suddenly, I noticed the car that brought the policemen to my house. The car was driving towards a filling station. The filling station was opposite SARS, at Borokiri.
When I saw the car, I said yes, that’s the car. I noticed that the car had just been washed. I walked towards the car and greeted the policemen. I told Samuel that I came for Michael, whom he and some policemen brought to our home, that morning. “Samuel asked me which Michael? He said he didn’t know what I was talking about. I was shocked. I tried to explain further. He said he would shoot me. I became afraid. I kept quite. A man who was walking towards SARS witnessed the altercation between me and Samuel. I later learnt he is a retired policeman.
He called and asked me what was going on. I told him. He said I should hold onto Samuel, because the man had killed a lot of youngsters in Bayelsa State. “He described Samuel as dangerous, saying he could kill anybody if you could just pay him N10, 000. He said that it was very likely that Samuel had killed my son since he was denying knowing or arresting him. I started shivering.
I immediately had malaria. Michael’s friends started calling me, asking me what Michael did that warranted police killing him. I said no, he had not been killed. “I stayed there until 4am, until I saw Samuel coming out from SARS office.

He thought I had left. When I saw him, I told him to tell me where he kept Michael, so that I could go and pick him. He said I should go to SOS. I should go to the Commissioner of Police’s Office, and State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID). He said that by the time I go to all those places, I would find my son. I breathed a sigh of relief. I thanked him. I was much relieved. “I immediately started going to all those places. I was on this journey until nightfall. I didn’t succeed. The following morning, I went back. Samuel saw me but was hiding. I noticed that one particular policeman, called Monday, was weeping bitterly.
The weeping was too much. When I went to him, he said I should leave him alone. He said, ‘this police work don tire me. Police work don tire me. If I get money, I go leave am.’ I didn’t know why he was crying. I didn’t know it was because of the killing of my son and his friend. “At a point, I started writing petitions to police top hierarchy, including the Inspector General of Police.
Samuel was finally invited to Calabar. He was invited along with members of his team. While they were being questioned, they each had a different story to tell. In 2010, when we all appeared in front of the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), every member of Samuel’s team confessed. Samuel’s team members told me, right in the presence of the AIG, that ‘madam, it was Samuel Chibu, who killed your son.’ One of them said he had asked Samuel
on that day when he wanted to kill my son, what offence the young man committed that warranted killing him. “They confessed that Samuel told them that if anyone asked them about the offence Michael committed, they should say he was a robber.
All the property he took from my son’s room were taken to his home. It was later I discovered that police were not aware that he confiscated those properties. He killed two people on that day. He killed my son, Michael Akor and my son’s friend, Michael Igwe. “Samuel came with some elders to beg me. I told them to find out from Samuel, who sent him to kill my son. Police know all the atrocities of Samuel, but still retained his services in the Nigeria Police Force.
‘My son promised to always be there for me’
On July, 17, 2013, amidst a heavy downpour, New Telegraph met with Rosemary Ezeanochie, mother of a ‘missing’ youngman, in Onitsha. She initially refused to speak at the Tarzan Motor park, where she was met. She requested our correspondent to follow her home.
She had been calling and speaking with the correspondent on the telephone all through her journey from Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abia and Imo states. According to Rosemary, her eldest son, Ernest, disappeared while in SARS custody in 2013. Rosemary is not just waiting for the return of her eldest son Ernest. She is also waiting for the return of her second son, Nonso. The younger son, Nonso disappeared in 2007, while returning from a school, where he used to teach.
His disappearance had been described as mysterious since the school where he taught adult education, was not far from the shanty where he lived with his brother and mother. While the search for Nnoso was on, Rosemary took solace in Ernest, praying earnestly that God would make him great, so that he would wipe away her tears and sufferings. But in 2013, Ernest had also disappeared while in the custody of SARS, Ikeja. She said listlessly: “Ernest promised me.
He promised that he would always be there for me. He told me not to worry. He bought me this television.” She stared at the television, shakes her head and intoned: “He said to me, ‘mummy! This television will keep you occupied.” She continued: “He said that I should stop thinking of Nonso. Police are now holding Ernest. Police should release him to me. There was a time I was afraid that they had killed him, but people said it’s not possible.
Even if somebody is a robber, which is a lie, I know my son is not a robber. They said even if someone is a robber, police can’t just kill the person. They said there’s law.” Investigation into Ernest’s case showed that he was in police detention. It was discovered that he was arrested for robbery and had since been killed. Rosemary said, “The name of their father is Damien Ezeanochie. We have just three children; two boys and a girl. The girl is married. My husband used to be a commercial bus driver. He was bathed with acid on his way to a northern state by armed robbers at Okene. This incident happened in 2007. He didn’t know that most of the passengers in his bus were robbers.

“I became the bread winner of the family. We were going through all these when Nonso got missing on July 2, 2007. “Then Ernest my first son also disappeared. He is into business of dismantling and selling scrapped car parts. He was trading at Onitsha before he decided to go down to Lagos to continue his business. But I never accepted his going down to Lagos becauseLagosisaveryroughandtoughplace. I also did not accept because he was the only child I had left after the disappearance of his brother. But he insisted on going.
“This is the sixth month because it happened this year (2013). I told him to continue his business here but his Daddy said I should allow him to go, that he was no longer a baby. Few months later, some people told me that they saw him in the newspapers, that he was paraded as an armed robber; I told them it couldnotbepossible. Ernestdoesn’tevenhave friends. So, how did he come across the gang they were talking about? I cried because he was the only one left for me. “I left for Lagos immediately. They told me that he was at the Ikeja police command. On getting there, one of the SARS men chased me out with a cutlass just because I asked him if he knew anyone being held bearing the name of my son.
The SARS man asked what my son did that they brought him here; I told him I had no idea. The man went into his office and came out with a machete. Some people at the command that day, who saw me while I was crying, advised me to go and see the Police Public Relations Officer, at Oduduwa. I met the PPRO, who asked me if I had any picture of my son. I told her that I only had the newspaper. So, she asked me to bring the newspaper.
The PPRO asked me again if the case was charged to court. She said that it was not possible for them to charge the case to court without her knowledge. She asked a certain man to go with us to look for Ernest in the SARS cells.
“But the officer there said they didn’t have anybody like that in their cells. The man that the PPRO asked me to go with argued with them but they kept saying my son was not there. We later went back to see the PPRO who pleaded with me to stop crying, especially after I narrated to her how Ernest’s kid brother Nonso went missing. The lady felt sorry for me. It’s not possible for me to give birth again at this age. “I am now left without any child. After listening to me, she started crying.
She asked me to go and come back the following day. The next day, she asked one of her officers to take me to SARS again, but Ernest was nowhere to be found. “We were still looking for my son, when an officer called and told me that the man who chased me with a cutlass might have killed my son. That was how up till date, Ernest is nowhere to be found. I have been to different offices there at the command.”
‘I don’t know what has become of my son- Chief Titus Ibeku
Another victim’s parent is Chief Titus Ibeku. New Telegraph met with Ibeku on July, 13, 2013, in Port Harcourt. Ibeku’s only son, Chika, 28, disappeared in July, 2009, while in police detention and till date, the man is still searching for his boy. Ibeku recalled that Chika called him on the telephone at about 2.am that fateful July, 7 day.
The number the young man used to call him was unknown, but the voice was that of his son. Narrating how he last heard from Chika, Ibeku said: “He said I should come to Omoku town. He said he was arrested and detained at Omoku Township.
I asked him what crime he had committed; he replied that he had committed no crime. On July 8, I left Port Harcourt, to Omoku Police Station. I saw him in the cell. He told me that he and three of his friends were returning to Port Harcourt from Omoku, when some policemen stopped them at a checkpoint. They asked for particulars of the car. He gave it to them. He was a student at University of Port Harcourt. The car belonged to his friend.
They asked for tinted glass permit; he said it was with the car owner. They searched them and took them to the station. After asking them some questions, they asked them to go. They left the station and were about to enter the car, when the DPO of the station suddenly called them back. “That was how they were detained. I went to see the DPO.
I introduced myself. I told him that I wanted to know what my son did. He said my son, with his friends were parading the town before they were arrested. I asked him what I should do; he said I should wait. I didn’t know that the DPO had arranged to transfer them to Port Harcourt. I was waiting when my phone rang. It was my son again.
He said they were taking them to Port Harcourt. I said what? I saw policemen marching them towards a jeep. I heard they were taking them to SARS in Port Harcourt. I followed them to SARS. On July 9, I went to SOS; I traced the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), Inspector Solomon. The IPO told me that they were still investigating. I asked him how I could arrange for the boys’ food? He said I should deposit some money. On July 10, I went back. The IPO told me that their commander was just coming; I should come back the following day. On July 11, being Saturday, I called him on phone, he started embarrassing me, asking me why I gave people his phone number, that people had been calling him. He said I should go and meet his commander, Supol Sonny.
“I told him that I wanted to see the boys, but I was not allowed to see them. When I asked again about their feeding, I was asked to go to the cafeteria and deposit money again. I did. Can you believe that until now, I have not been allowed to see them? We don’t know what had become of them. What offence did they commit that SARS couldn’t tell us?”
My son was tortured with an electric pressing iron- Fidelis Ejimonye
The next story played out in Imo State. It was nothing short of a horror movie for Chief Fidelis Ejimonye, who visited his son, Syracuse, at SARS office in Imo State, where he was detained and discovered that the young man had been tortured with an electric pressing iron. He had not yet got over the shock of the horrifying lacerations, on his son’s body, when he went back for another visit and heard that the young man had simply disappeared from police’s custody. Since then, Fidelis had had to go through hell emotionally and psychologically. New Telegraph gathered from his lawyer, Barrister Danladi Roberts, that Fidelis’ son had been killed in detention.
And sadly, even the lawyer had not been courageous enough to look into the old man’s hopeful eyes and tell him that his son was dead. Thus, Fidelis is still praying and hoping that someday soon, Syracuse will come home. Fidelis did not only lose a son, but his wife, also died while waiting fruitlessly for their son to come home. Fidelis explained that his son, Syracuse Ejimonye, was arrested in his presence on April 6, 2008 at Etekwuru Egbema, their hometown, by a team of policemen, who came from Imo State CID, Owerri. Following the arrest, he went to Imo State CID, Owerri on April 10 and upon inquiring at the SCID, was told by the police that his son’s name was not in their record.
Four days later, his daughter, Caroline Igwe, travelled to Owerri to further inquire about her brother at the SCID Owerri, whereupon she discovered that her brother, Syracuse was in the custody of the CID, Owerri. On further inquiry, Caroline was told that her brother was arrested following a report lodged at the police by one Mr. Amadioha, their town’s man.
Amadioha had accused Syracuse of conspiring with other persons to kidnap his mother. However, the other persons were not in the custody of the CID. Fidelis went back to the State CID and was eventually allowed to see his son, but he could hardly recognize him, as he had been defaced with an electric iron in the course of interrogation. The Police at CIB Owerri neither granted his son bail nor charged him to court up to November 10, 2010, when the father last visited the Police Station but was unable to see his son.
On that day (November 10, 2010), on inquiry, a female police officer told him that his son went out to purchase something. He waited all through that day until later, the IPO advised him to go with his people and plead with the complainant, Mr. Amadioha. Till date, neither he nor any members of his family had set eyes on Syracuse again. Incidentally, Syracuse is the only male child of Fidelis. In Igbo land, a male child is very important.
Police are worth nothing to me anymore- Emenike Chucks
On July, 14, 2013, New Telegraph met with Mr. Nze Emenike Chuks at Mile 3 Motor Park, Port Harcourt. His son, Nnamdi, was killed in police detention. Chuks refused to speak except his eldest son, Obinna was on ground. We drove to Obinna’s home. Obinna saw no sense in raking up corpses.
According to him, there was no justice in Nigeria and since the family did not have money, they had to allow the killing of Nnamdi to slide. Chuks and Obinna explained how Nnamdi was arrested. Nnamdi was arrested after a suspected robber, whom SARS men arrested and tortured, mentioned his name. Chuks and Obinna believed that the suspect mentioned the name of Nnamdi because he was being tortured and he had to mention any name to save himself from further torture. Immediately they heard a name, SARS men stormed Nnamdi’s home and arrested him with his girlfriend. The girlfriend was later granted bail after her parents paid N50, 000 but Nnamdi was not so lucky.
Obinna said that if they had been rich, from all what he saw and witnessed, Nnamdi would have been saved. Chuks said: “Three days after they arrested him, I was refused access to him. When I kept insisting that I wanted to see him, they told me they took him out for investigation and that he was shot. I asked them for his corpse, but they had not given it to me.
A senior police officer told me that if they hand the corpse of my son to me, it would create problem for them. Sounding very bitter, Chuks snarled: “We don’t have police anymore in Nigeria. What we have are thieves. Before they killed my son, I used to see them as hardworking people and give them lift along the road, but now, they don’t worth anything to me!”
Why we kill suspects- SARS
Several reasons have been given by SARS detectives on why they kill suspected robbers. Policemen, who spoke with New Telegraph, did so under conditions of anonymity. One shocking finds was the discovery that some state governors are agitating and supporting such killings. The only stipulation from such state governors is that “the suspect must be a confirmed armed robber!”
To the governors, eliminating them is reducing the menace they pose to the society. There are no hard or fast rules on where such killings are supposed to take place. Many killings, however, take place within the police stations. A good number are done far away from the stations.
Before, the corpses used to be rejected by state owned mortuaries, but since politicians and governors became involved in the fight against armed robbers and curtailing the number of armed robbers in the society, such mortuaries are now receiving such corpses without asking too many questions due to ‘instructions from above’. The dead are later given a mass burial. A Chief Superintendent of Police, (CSP), who has worked in SARS, in different states before his promotion, gave an insider’s information on why the men kill.
His words: “Most times, SARS men kill their suspects because of conversion of properties. Once they arrest these suspected robbers, they go to their homes and confiscate their properties. They share these properties, including suspects’ cars. I call such things blood money or property. But that’s the major reason. Another reason is what I prefer to call, ‘mistake.’
SARS men sometimes kill innocent people by mistake and to cover that mistake because it could land them in trouble, they kill another suspect who was an eye witness.” Another policeman revealed that it was discovered that after they had charged these suspected robbers to court, courts would acquit them and soon those robbers would come after the policemen, threatening them and their family members and most times, killing the policemen or their family members. The policeman added: “We also discovered that police prosecutors used to collect money from robbery suspect’s family and doctor the case file.
They change the charges from robbery to something less serious, like stealing, thus making it easy for the suspect to be acquitted. Before you know it, he’s out, to continue with his reign of terror. Many of our men had been killed because a robber is allowed to walk.
Once they walk, they would locate our homes and family members. They kill us or our family members. Sometimes, I don’t know how a robber who had been charged to court, from whom guns were discovered in his house, is allowed to go by our courts of law.
“This is why you see a robber whom you have arrested and charged to court, being re-arrested, even while his case is still in court. And when you ask the robber, he would tell you that his case was struck out and the judge or magistrate asked him to go. They go back into the society and the vicious circle begins all over again. They start robbing and killing people. Sometimes they even form new robbery gangs in the prisons.”
Another SARS operative reveals: “The reasons SARS kill suspects are many. But I want to add here that the only suspects killed are confirmed armed robbers. SARS cannot and had never killed anybody through torture. SARS kill confirmed armed robbers because if you take them to court, the court will give them less charges and grant them bail. “These robbers would later begin to hunt for the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) and his family members. Take the case of Sergeant Sylvester.
Sylvester was killed at Okeodo Abule-Egba, with his team members. They were five of them. We later discovered that a robber, named Goke, wiped out the whole team. Before the killing of the policemen, Goke was arrested for robbery. Several guns were recovered from his home. He was charged to court but granted bail. The case was still in court when Goke went for another robbery at Okeodo. He was among the robbers that killed Sylvester and four other policemen.
“Goke was later arrested based on a tipoff from a police informant, who was among the gang of robbers that attacked and killed the policemen. What about Supol John? He was attached to Area F Police Command. A robber he once arrested, went to his home, killed him, his daughter, who was a serving corps member and his cousin.” According to the SARS detective, another reason they kill suspected robbers was because the police needed to protect the lives of their informants.
“These days, we use informants as witnesses. Also these days, once a robber is arrested, we allow our informants to confront the robbers face-to-face. Now, don’t you think that we would be putting our informants in danger if we charge the robbers to court and the court allowed such robbers to go? “Let me tell you the story of Sergeant Nicholas. Nicholas arrested a robber through information. When the robber was detained, nothing was found on him. The robber refused to open up. Police authories ordered that the suspect should be released since no guns were found on him. If we take such suspect to court, nothing would be used as evidence against him.
The suspect’s name is Ganiu Ilesami. He was released, asked to report to SARS. He reported for seven days before he was asked to stop reporting. Two weeks after he was allowed to go, the informant, who led to his arrest, was killed. Nicholas was sighted at Ekpoma and also killed by the same Ilesami and gang. Ilesami was later arrested by SARS in Asaba, where he confessed. “If you don’t kill them, the complainants also would be in danger, including members of the public.
Robbers have strong connections, especially in the judiciary. Most times, robbers sent to prison, organize robbery operations from there. We’ve arrested robbers who spoke with their gang leaders, who were in prison, but organized the robbery. “Our informants are repentant robbers.
We pay them and even rent houses for them. We spend a lot of money on them. We spend such money to make sure they don’t go back to robbery. Some people believe that police are the ones releasing robbers, who come after them, after they had given police information. But it’s not true. “Killing them now makes informants and members of the public to have confidence in giving information, since they know nobody would come back to hunt and kill them. Nobody will come out and boldly tell you or accept that his brother or son is a robber. SARS cannot kill an innocent person, who is not a robber. We torture them because that’s the only way to get information from them. Many of them are hardened.
If you arrest a robber and torture him and you still didn’t find guns on him, the suspect is always allowed to go. I pity anybody that has sympathy for an armed robber. I pray that person never become a victim of an armed robber.” “Some of these robbers are so rich that they would gather money to settle Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), which will then say such robbers should be charged for stealing or that the robber had no case to answer.
DPP is also killing the police.” An Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) had this to say: “If you don’t kill robbers, they’ll train more people to become robbers. I’m a policeman but a cousin of mine was once arrested for robbery.
He spent years in prison. He was later released from prisons. He came out and trained youngsters in our community to become kidnappers. Today, these set of people are the greatest security threats we have in the community.
One robber can train more than 100 robbers. Better to kill a robber before he trains others. The prison is not a reformatory place.” A Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), revealed: “Sometimes most of the detainees die from torture.
We have overzealous SARS men. Men who want promotion at all cost and would do anything to get it. They want police authority to see them as working and getting result. I have also discovered that when most of these suspects are killed, SARS men will say he was an armed robber. “They’ll claim that the robber was killed when he took the police to his gang’s hideout and was trying to escape during a shoot out between the gang members and Police. One begins to wonder how someone who is handcuffed and in leg chains would ever attempt an escape. SARS men go to any police station, to incident that they came to the area for investigation and that a robber was killed.
They do this to ‘protect’ themselves. Killing people in SARS is like killing mosquitoes.” Another SARS officer, who was asked about the killings of suspected robbers and detainees, snarled: “What’s wrong with you? Are you a friend to armed robbers? You’re asking these stupid questions because robbers had never attacked you. Wait until robbers attack you; then you’ll know. You better don’t write that story. The Commissioner of Police will be angry with you. I thought the Inspector General of Police is also your friend. What will he say about this story?”