By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
A non-governmental organization, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), has detailed some of the major human rights and security issues that shaped the year 2022.
In a press briefing held at its head office in Lagos, RULAAC’s executive director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said one of the early topical issues that heralded 2022 was the standoff between the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwolu and a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) who led a police team dispatched from Abuja to enforce a court order over land in Magodo.
Recall that Sanwo-Olu had gone to stop police officers, Sheriffs and Bailiffs from enforcing a court judgment, but was resisted by the team leader, a Chief Superintendent of Police.
RULAAC recalled that among the first set of citizens who reacted were those who wondered how a Chief Superintendent of Police could challenge the authority of a state governor. “In fact, they wondered how the IGP and the AG of the Federation could dispatch Police officers all the way from Abuja to lay siege in an estate in Lagos without the courtesy of referring to the governor of the state.”
According to RULAAC, it turned out that the issue was a longstanding dispute over some parcels of land at the estate and the refusal by the Lagos State government to obey and comply with court Orders
RULAAC said the incident brought to the fore two issues:
- The refusal by the Lagos State government to comply with the Supreme Court judgement for 12 years, and
- The urgency of decentralizing policing.
RULAAC also looked at the alleged mismanagement of the Police Trust Fund as another issue that shaped the state of security and human rights in 2022.
RULAAC recalled that N151bn was approved for the NPTF but the body allegedly deployed the funds in dubious expenditures.
Nwanguma said since 2021, the Independent Corrupt Practices And Other Related Offence Commission (ICPC) has been investigating the ‘’procurement’’ of substandard operational vehicles for the NPF for eternity.
“Specifically, ICPC has been investigating allegations of mismanagement, corruption, breach of due process, non-consultation with the police to determine their needs, and allegation by the chairman of the PTF himself that the board of trustees which he heads was not informed and approval obtained for the procurement done by the Executive Secretary,” he said.
RULAAC said while the investigation by the ICPC was still ongoing, President Buhari commissioned the same substandard vehicles despite protests by civil society organisations led by RULAAC.
Nwanguma said more than one year after the ICPC commenced the investigation, RULAAC filed a Freedom of Information (FoI) request asking the ICPC to make available the report of its investigation. But that request has not as much as even acknowledged till date.
RULAAC accused the then NPTF Executive Secretary, Ahmed Aliyu of being involved in the corruption allegations. Ahmed Aliyu later resigned his position in the NPTF to contest the governorship of Sokoto State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ahmed Aliyu had lost the gubernatorial primary election under APC in Sokoto in 2019 before his appointment as Executive Secretary of the NPTF. He launched his bid for the governorship of the state on the platform of the APC after holding a stint in NPTF.
RULAAC alleges that the NPTF is no doubt, one of the avenues for President Buhari to dispense political patronage and help political allies fund-raise for their political ambitions by stealing public funds. “Otherwise, what expertise in management at such strategic level did Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto have to qualify him for such appointment apart from being a friend and ally for years to former Sokoto State Governor, Magatakarda Wamakko, now a Senator?”
RULAAC also listed the disappearance of 178,459 arms and ammunition from the armoury of the Nigeria Police Force as among the issues that shaped 2022.
Recall that the Auditor-General of the Federation, in his report to the National Assembly, revealed the disappearance of Arms from the Nigeria Police Armoury. The report revealed that 178,459 arms and ammunition were found missing from the Nigeria police armoury.
“There was further information in a report by a researcher for the European Union which stated that the 12-year-long insurgency was powered by state-owned arms carted by terrorists after attacks on military bases, which were then used to fight the state.
“Long after these scandalous revelations hit the headlines and were still trending, the Nigeria Police authorities did not respond. Neither the Minister of Police Affairs nor the President said anything by way of demanding explanation from the police hierarchy. I don’t know if anyone of you is aware that the police eventually responded to this scandal.”
RULAAC also highlighted some of the harassment and attacks on human rights activists and journalists, including Agba Jalingo whose home was besieged on August 19, 2022, at the behest of Frank Ayade, the brother of the Governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade. He was released days after the arrest.
Also, the home of Olanrenwaju Suraju, the Executive Director, of Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) was broken into in the early hours of Monday, March 28, 2022, by unknown armed men who tied him and his wife up and subjected them to brutal and humiliating treatment in the presence of their children. The police ignored calls to investigate this dastardly act to unravel those behind it. Suraju is a frontline anti-corruption crusader exposing corrupt practices by powerful former and serving public officials in Nigeria.
The publisher of 247ureports.com, Ikenna Elis-Ezenekwe, was arrested by men from the IGP monitoring team for no clearly stated offence at the alleged prompting of a politician, Chief Primus Odili, a former Chief of Staff to the former governor of Anambra, Willie Obiano. He was detained and released after some days without charge following public calls for his release.
RULAAC’s Executive Director was also invited by police authorities in Edo State Police Command for calling for an investigation of alleged corruption by the former Commissioner of Police, Abutu Yaro now promoted AIG despite his sordid human rights record and petitions against him to the police service commission. He received threats for refusing to honour the illegal invitation.
RULAAC says it received several pieces of information concerning arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention, torture, extortion and extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances by the police in Imo State.
The activities of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the police also came to the fore during the briefing, with its notoriety for extortion and torture. “The unit is notorious for arresting young people, detaining them incommunicado without trial, torturing them to self-incriminate, and extorting money from their family members when they eventually manage to trace them to the facility. They hide under the guise of combating IPOB and kidnapping to abuse the human rights of citizens. RULAAC intervened in some cases and successfully secured the freedom of some of the victims. The case of Gloria Okorie was well publicized.”
The menace of Ebubeagu in Ebonyi and Imo States was also highlighted in the press briefing.
According to Nwanguma, in Ebonyi, many political opponents of the governor have been arrested, detained, tortured and threatened.
In Imo state, members of Ebubeagu allegedly engage in mass atrocities, killings, vandalism, abductions and rape.
The case of serious extortion of 445 police trainees at Police Training College, Nekede, Owerri, also came to the fore as among the issues that shaped 2022.
RULAAC received the report of serious extortion in the hands of the authorities of the Training School.
RULAAC said it promptly alerted the authorities at the Force Headquarters and called for urgent intervention to save the police trainees from the oppressive and exploitative activities of the authorities of the Training school.
The Complaints Response Unit (CRU) of the Nigeria Police under the leadership of DCP Ishaku Basiran was hailed by RULAAC for being outstanding in the year 2022.
Nwanguma said the CRU shows demonstrable commitment to the enforcement of discipline and checking impunity for police human rights violations and misconduct.
RULAAC then adopted the head of the CRU, DCP Ishaku Basiran as it’s policeman of the year.
