News

Police Brutality: “I Have Not Seen My Son Since 2011”, Father Of Deceased Tells Panel

Published

5 years ago

November 5, 2020

… Another Narrates How Police Brutality Left Him Deaf

The Edo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry for victims of human rights abuse by men of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad, yesterday, began hearing on petitions with an officer of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Isaac Edoh, who is yet to know the state of his son, whether dead or alive.

As of November 5, the panel has received 24 petitions.

Isaac, who is from Benue State said the last time he saw his son, Baba Edoh, was inside a custody of the Edo State Police command in 2011.

Narrating his story to the panel in Benin City, the Benue-born said his son was an undergraduate of English Literature, Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto before he was allegedly killed by the police.

The father of the deceased said in June 2011, he received an anonymous call from the State Criminal Investigation Department of Edo State Police command that his son was arrested along Auchi road for alleged kidnapping.

Isaac said he immediately took permission from his superior at the office and rushed from Lagos to Benin to see his son but saw him lying in his pool of blood obviously from physical assault and inhuman treatment melted on him.

“I tried speaking with him but was prevented by officers on duties despite knowledge of the relationship between me and the suspect in their custody,” he said.

The Custom officer said the following day he visited the station and discovered that the name of his son was not on any of the records of the detainees in the cell.

“I immediately contacted the officer-in-charge of kidnapping section who informed that my son was not in their custody. I was informed that he was one of the suspects paraded in a national television on June 4, 2011.

“I was told armed robbers attacked and shot my son while the police was conducting further investigations in Auchi. None of the Police officers sustained injuries. The only person they said died was my son. Since his death, the police have refused to release the corps.

“I later filed a suit in the high court for fundamental rights, and got judgement but unfortunately the police appealed the case on the basis of identity conflict. The court of appeal urged us to return to the high court for retrial. Since then I have been demoralised, and don’t know whether he is alive or dead; all I want is justice,” he said.

The chairman of the panel, Justice Ada Ehigiamusoe (Rtd), admitted a photograph of the son, Compact Disk(CD) of paraded suspects, and court proceedings as exhibits.

The Justice adjourned hearing on the case to Thursday, November 17, so as to get response from the police officers.

In a related development, another victim of human rights abuse, Sunday Akpan told the panel that he was smacked repeatedly on his ear by a police officer for allegedly selling his wife’s refrigerator and shop to pay debt.

Speaking to journalists through his counsel, Festus Obijeko, said the victim is facing hearing difficulties due to the assault he received from the officer.

He added that his client’s condition has made it difficult to fend for his family.

“He was told that the said officer died in the line of duty and that the command will get back to him, that was sometime February this year. Since that time till this moment, they have not gotten back to him.

“In a civil domestic matter has broken the marriage and as I am talking with you now, himself and his wife are not together again, the children are not in school, the children are not well fed, that psychological coverage that family should offer to his children has been missing”, he said.

The chairman of the panel, Justice Ada Ehigiamusoe (Rtd) assured the victims of police brutality that the panel would be balanced and thorough in their job and would not rely on the account of one party to make their judgement but would also invite the police to give their own side of the story.

Justice Ehigiamusoe said the panel is not to indict anyone but could only make recommendations to the government on how the victims of police brutality could be compensated at the end.

News

JUST IN: Court Orders IGP To Arrest Mahmood Yakubu, Ex-INEC Chairman

Published

38 minutes ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

Despite his exit as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, has again ordered the Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, to arrest the former INEC chairman, Prof Mahmoud Yakubu, for an offence relating to contempt of court.

The Court order came a few hours after Yakubu left office as the INEC chairman.

The Action Alliance, AA, had instituted a case before the court challenging INEC and its former chairman, Prof Yakubu, over their non-compliance with the judgment of the Court delivered by Justice Funmilola Demi-Ajayi in suit number FHC/OS/CS/194/2024.

In the said judgment, the court ordered INEC to put the names of the National Chairman of the Action Alliance, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, and other members of the party’s National Executive Committee, NEC, on the INEC portal.

The Court also held that the names of all the state chairmen of the party be uploaded on the INEC portal.

The court held that the elective convention of the party held on the 7th of October, 2023 which produced Omoaje as the national chairman of the party and other NEC members of the party was authentic as it was properly monitored and supervised by officials of INEC in accordance with the party’s constitution and the electoral acts.

However, INEC claimed to have complied with the court judgment, but the party disagreed with the commission, as the name of Omoaje was yet to be uploaded on the commission’s website despite the orders of the Court.

Although the names of the state chairmen of the party under the leadership of Omoaje and those of the NEC members are already on the INEC portal, Omoaje’s name is yet to be uploaded as of press time, a development that the court frowned at.

The court order obtained by our correspondent dated 7th October, 2025, and signed by Mr O.M. Kilani on behalf of the Court Registrar reads in part, “it is hereby ordered that the Inspector General of Police shall cause the arrest and shall charge the defendant/judgment debtors for contempt and committal proceedings within seven days of this ruling.”

The court also awarded a cost of #100,000 against the judgment creditors.

News

Lagos Closes Adeniji Adele–CMS Lane For Six Weeks Of Repairs

Published

2 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Government has announced a partial closure of the Adeniji Adele Interchange Junction to CMS for six weeks to allow for rehabilitation works by the Federal Government.

According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, the repair works will run daily between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., starting Sunday, October 12, and ending Sunday, November 23, 2025.

Osiyemi explained that only one lane of the road will be closed during the period, while the remaining lanes will remain open to traffic to minimize disruptions.

He assured motorists that traffic management officers will be stationed along the corridor to ensure smooth vehicular movement and reduce inconvenience during the rehabilitation.

“Motorists are implored to be patient, as the lane diversion is part of the traffic management plan for the rehabilitation of the road by the Federal Ministry of Works,” the commissioner said.

He also urged drivers to comply with the directives of traffic officials on duty to ensure safety and efficient traffic flow throughout the repair period.

News

JUST IN: Tinted Permit Enforcement Placed On Hold Due To Court Order – Police

Published

2 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Nigeria Police Force said on Wednesday that the enforcement of the vehicle tinted glass permit has been suspended following a court order halting the exercise.

Spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, SP Josephine Adeh, disclosed this during an interview on Africa Independent Television, AIT.

She said the decision to halt the enforcement came after the police officially received the court order.

Adeh said, “Information reaching me from the office of the PRO is that the order has been received and the enforcement of the tinted permit is now on hold pending the court’s verdict”.

Disclosing that the directive to suspend enforcement would remain in place pending the outcome of the ongoing legal process, Adeh said, “We are waiting for the verdict. We are not against the courts, and we will continue to wait until we get a verdict”.

Speaking on public concerns about the purpose of the tinted glass regulation, Adeh explained that it was introduced for security reasons, noting that some criminal activities had been carried out using vehicles with darkened windows.

“The law was not made by us. We are enforcers. The policy was purely security-driven. Some criminals were using tinted vehicles to commit offences, making it difficult for law enforcement to identify suspects,” she said.

She dismissed claims that the policy was designed for financial gain, noting that all payments related to tinted permits are made directly into the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA), not to the police.