The Independent Investigative Panel on SARS and other units of the Nigerian Police Force sitting in Abuja, today warned police counsel to stop frustrating panel’s effort in the ongoing hearings saying that time is of the essence in arriving at justice.
John Aikpopko Martins stated this while addressing counsel to respondents (Malik D. Taiwo Esq) over the seemingly lackluster attitude displayed by counsel to the police and other support staff responsible for ensuring that matters before the panel are heard expeditiously.
The respondents have repeatedly failed to appear before the panel and this has not helped anyone, he added.
Expressing his displeasure, the first vice president of the Nigeria Bar Association NBA, who is also the NBA representative on the panel, said “you are trying to frustrate us, handwriting is on the wall”.
He added that counsels to the police are first of all lawyers before being police personnel and that professional ethics are expected of them.
He further stated that counsel to the police owe a duty to the panel to assist it in carrying out the task before it successfully.
The panelist expressed this concern in respect of a case of enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest, prolonged unlawful detention and access to justice brought before the panel by Alhaji Salihu Suleiman against Supol Christopher of defunct SARS FCT and three others.
In the petition Suleiman had accused the police of arbitrary arrest and prolonged detention of his son, (Lukman Salihu), since 2015, who was at the time, a student of Nasarawa Polytechnic.
The petitioner said his son (Lukeman) left home in Kogi State to resume school, but was however arrested with 11 others in a commercial vehicle at ZUBA and taken into police custody at Force CID Abuja.
He informed the panel that the matter was taken to court where the court awarded NI million compensation in favor of the complainant.
The court also ruled that the victim be released on bail and if found guilty be prosecuted in accordance with the law, which the police according to him has failed to do.
In addition, Suleiman told the panel that he wrote a letter to both the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General of the federation in 2017 on the same subject matter, but has not received any response till date.
The panel ordered the release of the victim and the appearance of Supol Christopher Onyishi, the IPO in the matter at the time, whose whereabouts counsel to the police could not convincingly tell the panel.
Surprisingly, the affected police officers were absent in the panel when the matter was called today (26th of February, 2021) for police to open their defense.
Consequently, the matter was adjourned till 7th April, 2021 for police to open their defense.
Suleiman is seeking among other reliefs, the sum of N500 Million as compensation for unlawful detention.
POLICE SHOT ME IN RIGHT ARM FOR WHAT I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT— COMPLAINANT TESTIFIES BEFORE IIP-SARS
A young boy, Abubakar Sadiq Ibrahim on Friday narrated before the Independent Investigative Panel on SARS and other units of the Nigeria Police Force how Police chased him up to a distance of 300 miles and eventually shot him on his right arm.
Sadiq narrated his horrifying ordeal in the hands of two men whom he later discovered were SARS operatives.
The complainant noted that it took some time for him to realize that the policemen visited his father’s compound in search of kidnapping suspects, which he said he knew nothing about.
According to Sadiq ‘”on May 19th 2020, about 1pm, while waiting to observe the afternoon prayers with my family members, I heard gunshots in our compound. I saw a man in mufti who pointed a gun towards my father’s window, this made me apprehensive and I ran to the Boys Quarters to check if the rest of my siblings were safe. On discovering that they were not there, I started running out of the compound”.
Amidst shouts of thief! thief! by the police, the petitioner said the police chased him up to a distance of about 300 miles until he sought refuge in the house of a serving Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who he said is not only a neighbor but also confirmed knowing Sadiq personally and equally attested to his (Sadiq’s) good behaviour before the SARS operatives.
This did not stop the police, as Sadiq told the panel that he was arrested along with seven (7) of his family members and taken to Guzape Police station, where they were kept for 7 hours before their release.
Upon his release from detention, Sadiq said “I was admitted at the National hospital Abuja for two weeks where I underwent an orthopedic treatment and plastic surgery on my right arm”.
The petitioner told the panel that he has lost academic years as a result of the incident.
In their response, a member of the police legal team, Malik Taiwo informed the panel that the matter for which the complainant came to the panel was already at the FCT High court before Justice Peter Afeh.
In view of the foregoing, Justice Galadima (rtd) directed counsel to the petitioner to confirm whether the matter is pending before the FCT high court as submitted by police counsel.
The case was adjourned to 13th April 2021 for cross examination and continuation of hearing.
