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Tag: Inspector- General of Police (IGP)

  • Police to pay N2m to three persons over unlawful detention

    The Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna has ordered the Police to pay N2 million as exemplary damages to three persons unlawfully arrested and detained for 19 months.

    The three persons, Idris Abubakar, Anas Abubakar and Aliyu Abubakar, instituted the case against the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

    Also joined in the suit No. FHC/KD/CS/22/2016 were the Commissioner of Police in Kaduna State and the Divisional Police Officer, Kabala Police Station.

    The complainants said that they were arrested by the police for alleged theft and were detained for six days, after which the police claimed that they were members of Boko Haram.

    The complainants said since their arrest, they were neither released nor taken to court, adding that their lawyers and relatives were denied access to them.

    In his judgment, Justice Emeka Nwite, after hearing arguments from Counsel to the applicants, Baba Lawal-Aliyu and that of the respondents, E C Enwelum, ruled that the continued detention of the applicants violated their fundamental human rights.

    He also ruled that the police had not provided any evidence to warrant their long detention or assertion that the three were members of the Boko Haram.

    The judge dismissed the confessional statement tendered by the police in which the applicants confessed to being members of the insurgent group, saying that the document was not admissible in law.

    “Again, they said incriminating items were recovered from the applicants buttressing that they are Boko Haram sect members.

    “Not only the applicants denied having any incriminating objects when they were arrested but the respondents did not exhibit any of the incriminating objects to buttress their claims,” Justice Nwite noted.

    “In view of the foregoing analysis, I am of the view and so hold that in the said detention of the applicants, the police violated Section 35(5) (B) and 36 of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),’’ he ruled.

    The judge, therefore, ordered the production of the applicants before the court or an outright release from police detention.

    He also awarded N2 million as exemplary damages against the police for unlawful arrest and detention of the applicants, and another N50,000 against the respondent in favour of the applicants.

    “I hereby make an order enforcing the applicants fundamental rights as guaranteed by Section 34, 35 and 36 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended,’’ he added.

     

  • Rivers Rerun: Balance of N360million alleged bribed used to buy cars, others

    Rivers Rerun: Balance of N360million alleged bribed used to buy cars, others

    What happened to the balance of the N360m outstanding balance of the money allegedly used to influence the outcome of the Rivers State senatorial election rerun?

    The source said the money was used to buy choice vehicles’, houses and renovate some other ones.

    A 15-man panel set up by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris had last week come out with a report that indicted the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike.

    The panel claimed that it recovered N111.3million from N360million alleged to have been given to 23 officials of INEC.

    Giving an update on the findings of the panel, a source close to the investigation who pleaded anonymity said: “The panel recovered discovered that some of them bought houses, cars and even renovated their existing houses with the money.

    “The panel also discovered that some gave out money to their relatives while some others invested money. Several cars were recovered and they would be tendered during prosecution in court.

    The Source further gave more insight on what the panel unraveled during investigation.

    He said: “In the audio tape that went viral, the governor was mentioning 8,8,7; and what he was referring to was the officials of INEC. He gave the leaders of the INEC officials from the three states, N20million each.

    “They brought outsiders for the election because they wanted neutral body to ensure transparency but they were bribed by the governor. They were 23 in number, eight came from Osun or Oyo, eight from Plateau and seven from Anambra state.

    “If you listened to the tape that went viral, you will discover that there was a part where the governor was shouting, kill them because they didn’t do their work well. The three states where officials came from have a leader. The leaders were the ones that were given N20million and others were given N15qwmillion. So, it was the leaders that he was threatening to kill.

    “As mentioned by the IG, the report will be sent to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN) will now go through it and necessary action will be taken against those indicted. He is the Chief Law of the Federation.

    On whether the report was doctored and if it was just a political move to tarnish the image of the governor who belongs to the opposition party, the source said: “where did the police get the huge amount of money from? Those cars and houses recovered, where did the panel get it from? Is it police money or something?

    “23 people have been arrested and they all confessed. It was through them that the money was recovered; it was through them that the cars were also recovered. The 23 people arrested, the panel have their video confessions and they all wrote their official statement with their hand. They are all educated people and they used their own handwriting to write their confession and they also talked on video. They videos will be provided during prosecution.

    “All documents are available on how they were summoned to the government house, how they were given the money inside the government house and how vehicles were brought to them to move with the Ghana Must Go bags, and how they were moved to their hotels. Everything was confessed to on video.

    “This is not a political issue. This is a case where money that was supposed to be used to build schools, hospitals, roads and others social amenities have been squandered. So, whoever does wrong will be made to carry his or her cross irrespective of political affiliation.

    “So, that is the true position of everything. Everything is there and all the people that the money were recovered from are alive, they confessed both in written form and in videos.

    On why they were not presented to the press that time, the source simply said: “we could not present them that time because they are INEC staff and they are yet to be dismissed. Also, we want the Attorney General to take action first before they would be interviewed but all evidences are on ground. It is a very clear case”.

  • Kidnapping is beyond Police says, IGP

    Kidnapping is beyond Police says, IGP

    The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris has said the fight against kidnapping in the country is beyond the Nigeria Police.

    He said the fight would only be won if emphasis is placed on community policing.

    The Police chief also noted that security challenges presently confronting the country can be tackled if funding of the Force, and recruitment of officers into the Nigeria Police Force is properly addressed.

    The IGP also disclosed that the Force would soon organize a Security Summit that will help address the issue of kidnapping in the country.

    It was also revealed that beyond arrest of suspects, the police would intensify efforts in the prosecution of suspects in court.

    The Police chief said this in Abuja Wednesday during a meeting with Deputy Inspector General (DIGs), Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGs), Commissioners of Police and other senior officers.

    On the spate of kidnapping in the country with the latest victim being a Retired Director of State Security Service, Mike Ejiofor, the IG said: “Security is everybody’s business, both the police and the citizens. The kidnappers live amongst the people and that is why I said we are going to conduct a security summit to address most of the security challenges we are witnessing in this country.

    “With the issue of kidnapping, what is obvious is that we cannot have policemen in every soil and that is why we always say that security is everybody’s business. Those communities around where kidnapping take place, if you suspect anybody, report to police because we have our presence in every Local Government of this country and they are ready to do their work.

    The IG who also admitted that the rate of kidnapping was worrisome said: “it is becoming a worrisome situation and that is why we are trying to mobilize all sectors of the society to sit and address the issue of kidnapping.

    “It goes beyond the role of police, it has gone beyond the role of community leaders, it has gone to the role of religious leaders, roles of people in schools and the kind of schools we enroll our children. I think these are things we need to address and I believe that with concerted efforts, we are going to see an end to kidnapping in this country.

    on other security measures put in place to tackle security threats in the country, the IG said: “From our own end, we are trying to widen the scope of providing the security structures in various Commands to be able to effectively tackle security challenges in this country and we have gotten a lot of offers in the areas of establishment of Mobile Police Squadrons.

    “We established two Mobile Police Qquadrons; in Kafanchan and Minna and these measures are geared towards having structures on ground that can assist in addressing some of the security challenges we are having especially in the area of herdsmen, cattle rustling, ethnic and religious clashes we are experiencing in various parts of the country”.

    On the essence of the oncoming summit, Idris said: “We are coming up with the summit because we want to discuss on a general platform how we are going to address some of the security issues. The reality is that you must have seen most of our presentation; when I went to Defence College, I told them that we can succeed with the issue of community policing when we address the ratio of one policeman to 400 citizens of this country.

    ‘The summit will cover traditional rulers, religious leaders, and every sector of the Nigerian community and that is an indication that security is everybody’s business; we all have a say in the security of this country because it requires joint effort”.

    On the need to recruit more workforce, the police chief said: “Recruitment of Rank and File in this country stopped since 2010 and there is no way we can have an effective policing if we don’t have enough policemen to police the population and that is one of the areas  we are addressing now.

    “This administration has come up with the recruitment of 10,000 police officers and we are going to ensure that every year, we address the issue of recruitment and these are strategic issues that should be addressed in order to tackle effectively the efficiency of the Nigeria Police Force.

    The IG who lamented on the funding of the Force, said: “the police need more funding for it to perform more effectively and we believe that the Security Trust Fund which is before the National Assembly should be given speedy attention because I believe that should be the concern of every Nigerian now.

    “In this country, they have created virtually new security outfits, I think the latest is in the pipeline which is Peace Corp instead of creating additional outfit, people still refer to the police to take care of every security challenge in this country and I believe it is time for us to address the requirement of the Nigeria Police Force so that we can effectively tackle security challenges in this country”.

    On prosecution of suspects arrested and paraded, the IG said: “We will be focusing on prosecution of suspects arrested because in the past, when we make arrest, we go on air and talk but we don’t follow up on prosecution and I have directed that henceforth, we are going to give a lot of publicity to prosecution so that people can follow the trend of how some of these people have been dealt with in the Law court which will serve as deterrent to others that would want to take similar step and that will send a signal that being involved in kidnapping does not pay.”

  • Policeman sues IGP, others over unpaid wages

    Policeman sues IGP, others over unpaid wages

    The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris and two others have been sued by a retired policeman, Uduak Sunday Akpan for allegedly withholding his salaries and other entitlements.

    The suit marked: NICN/ABJ/242/2016, filed for Uduak by his lawyer, John Ainetor, before the National Industrial Court (NIC), Abuja, also has as defendants, the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

    Uduak, who retired as a Superintendent of Police (SP) on January 2, 2015, said he was being owed salaries and allowances for 13 months when he was suspended from service.

    The claimant said he joined the NPF on January 7, 1980, but was suspended on July 2, 1997, while the payment of his salaries and emoluments was also withheld until he was reinstated in 2010.

    Uduak stated that his salaries, allowances and emoluments were not paid to him for the period of his suspension, a period of about 13 years.

    He is therefore praying the court for among others, an order directing the defendants to pay him N5, 505,318.00 being the total amount of his unpaid salaries, allowances and emoluments from 2nd July, 1997 to 31st December, 2009.

    The claimant also seeks an order directing the defendants to pay him N10m being damages for the delay and refusal of the defendants to pay his salaries, allowances and emoluments from 2nd July, 1997 to 31st December, 2009.

    He also wants the court to order the defendants to pay him 21 per-cent interests on the judgment sum, from the date of the judgment until full payment of the judgment sum.

    When the case came up for mention yesterday, the defendants were yet to filed their responses, following which Justice Edith Agbakoba adjourned to March 22 for hearing.

  • Police arrest more NTIC kidnap suspects, recover N3m

    Police arrest more NTIC kidnap suspects, recover N3m

    Operatives of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT) Tuesday arrested two more suspects in connection with the kidnap of three pupils and five officials of Nigerian Tulip International Colleges (NTIC) Ogun.

    The Nation gathered that detectives also recovered N3million from the suspects identified as Egbasimokumo Ayeomi, 24, and Super Alex, 21, both Ondo state indigenes.

    They were said to have been apprehended at Ikorodu, a Lagos district, while trying to escape to Ondo State.

    According to a source, the suspects confessed to have participated in several other kidnappings within Lagos and Ogun states.

    He said they were giving useful and valid information to the police, adding that their confessions would assist in rounding up other suspects.

  • Police arrest mastermind of CBN governor’s wife kidnap

    The operatives of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT) have arrested one of the masterminds of the CBN governor’s wife kidnap.

    According to the police, the arrested suspect, Umar Abubakar is the 10th member of the kidnap gang.

    The wife of the CBN governor, Margaret Emefiele was kidnapped in September, 2016.

    The police said Abubakar acquired two houses and three plots of empty land with the proceeds of his share of the ransom.

    In a statement in Abuja on Monday by the Force Spokesman, Don Awunah, Abubakar aka Kiriwa was trailed and apprehended in Minna, Niger State on 9th of December, 2016.

    On how the arrest was successful, Awunah explained that intelligence gathering and collaborative efforts of public spirited members of the community led to his arrest.

    According to the statement: “Umar Abubakar, one of the arrow heads of the dare devil kidnapping gang led detectives to two (2) houses and three plots of empty land he purchased with the proceeds of his share of the ransom.

    “The arrested kingpin confessed that he used N3million, part of the ransom, to open a provision shop in Minna, Niger State which he was running with his wife.

    “The original papers of the houses and plots of land have been recovered and registered as exhibits and the shop also sealed”.

    The Police have however assured that with support from people, no crime committed will go undetected adding that perpetrators will be apprehended for justice and closure to prevail in the court of law.

    The Police chief, IGP Ibrahim Idris while reassuring members of the public of the readiness of the police under his leadership to deliver dedicated and quality policing services also urge all and sundry to be vigilant and provide useful information to the police.

     

  • 28,000 Policemen, 18 armoured vehicles, others for Rivers rerun

    28,000 Policemen, 18 armoured vehicles, others for Rivers rerun

    …Police neutral in the exercise says IGP

     

    The Inspector general of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris Thursday confirmed that no fewer than 28,000 police men have been deployed from other states of the Federation to compliment men of the Rivers state Police command in the tomorrow’s outstanding Legislative seats election rerun in the state.

    Idris also said 18 armoured tank vehicles, 350 hilux vehicles, 20 dogs, 28 gunboats several state commissioners of police, DIGs among others are already in the state to ensure peaceful, free, fair and credible elections.

    The IGP gave this statistics Thursday in Port Harcourt, while briefing officers and men of the police on the exercise.

    The Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of operations, Habila Joushark had stated this in a stake holders meeting organized by INEC in Port Harcourt, Wednesday.

    A total of 37 rerun elections into the vacant seats of the state National and state Legislature would be conducted in seven of the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAS of the state Saturday).

    Idris said commissioners of police have also been deployed from states to Mann the three senatorial districts of the state where the elections would hold.

    The LGAs are Andoni, Akuku-toru, Bonny, Etche, Ikwerre, Khana and Gokana, it is not clear yet if election would be held in Tai. INEC said election in Tai LGA has was concluded in the March 19 rerun, and result already announced. But the ruling PDP in the state is insisting that elections were yet to be conducted in Tai, maintaining that the March 19, attempt was aborted by wide spread violence.

    IGP assured that all necessary and needed arrangements have been made for a peaceful and credible election in the state and appealed to politicians and their supporters to support the efforts of the police and other sister agencies to achieve the desired, free, fair and credible poll.

    He pledged the police and other security agencies neutrality in the exercise and said total restriction of vehicles and human beings both in land and water would begin 12 midnight across the state.

    He warned policemen attached to politicians not to accompany their principals irrespective of who to the polling units, stressing that their presence to the polling units would scare voters.

    Earlier the INEC chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu in a stake holders meeting in Port Harcourt had said that card reader would be used for the accreditation f voters in the election. Represented by the Federal Commissioner, south South, Muhammad Lecky, Yakubu assured that the INEC has sufficient Card Readers for the elections, and said that in case of any failure, the incident forms would be filled out to ensure no eligible voter was disenfranchised.

  • Police to commence renovation of barracks

    Police to commence renovation of barracks

    The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris has said that the Force will commence the renovation of barracks across the nation soon.

    He also noted that the renovation will be in order of priority.

    The IGP who was represented by DIG in charge of Logistics and Supply, Maigari Dikko disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday during the flag-off campaign on barracks sanitation with the theme; ‘Our Barracks go Clean, Health is Wealth’.

    He said: “We are embarking on a very aggressive and massive renovation of barracks that is going to be prioritized. I don’t know about the status of this very barracks (Gwagwa) but I am sure this may not be the worst. If we get the list from FCT, we are going to start with the worst ones and from there; we will come down in the order of priority”.

    The IGP while assuring Police Officers Wives Association (POWA) of continuous support that would better the lives of personnel of the Force also suggested that the cleaning exercise be done in all the states and proof in form of video recording of the event be sent to the POWA president.

    Also speaking, the wife of the IGP, Princess Asmau Idris decried the deplorable state of barracks in Nigeria.

    She said: “The practice of sanitation in our police barracks has been dormant in the past years and we are flagging off this event so that our policemen and their families will be in good physical and mental condition thereby boosting their productivity level.

    On the essence of the sanitation, she said: “I wish to draw our attention to the damage done to the image of the Nigeria Police Force by the poor conditions of our barracks with respect to neatness. Our barracks are expected to be centre of excellence and pride of the nation.

    “I know that it is a disciplinary offence in the police if a policeman does not turn out neatly. However, I am not aware of any sanctions of policemen whose environment is dirty. If they were, our barracks would be much neater than they look now.

    She further said: “We intend to carry out inspections in our barracks regularly to ensure adequate cleanliness and I appeal to our women to help sustain this campaign in the interest of all of us in keeping and ensuring that our barracks are kept clean.

    “We want to pass a message to our women and youths in the barracks to imbibe this culture which has been long forgotten. The attitude people have about barrack children is bad, we should learn to change that and let them know that we are disciplinary families and we will ensure tdiscipline in our barracks.

    “Our youths in barracks should help keep our environment clean and abstain from any act that will bring bad image to their families and Nigeria Police in particular”, she added.

  • Court strikes out Buhari’s N50b suit against NTA, IGP, Ali, others

    Court strikes out Buhari’s N50b suit against NTA, IGP, Ali, others

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a N50billion suit by President Muhammadu Buhari against two media houses, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), former Director of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential campaign organisation, Ahmadu Ali, among others.

    The suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/267/2015 was filed by the President on March 23, 2015 through a team of lawyers led by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).

    The suit sought to among others, prohibit the defendants from further airing and publishing an offensive documentary produced by then President Jonathan’s campaign organisation, which portrayed Buhari and his party – All Progressives Congress (APC) in bad light.

    Defendants in the suit included DAAR Communication Plc – owner of African Independent Television (AIT), National Television Authority (NTA), National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), IGP, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Dr. Ahmadu Ali.

    Buhari had argued, in his statement of claim that the documentary titled: “The Real Buhari,” aired on NTA and AIT during the last presidential campaign, amounted to hate speech, which contravened Section 95(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010.

    He stated that the hate broadcast by Daar Communication (AIT) and NTA, contained fabricated and concocted facts about the purported past of the 1st plaintiff (Buhari), meant to mislead the electorate for the benefit of then President Jonathan, then Vice President, Namadi Sambo and the PDP.

    The plaintiffs – Buhari and the APC – sought among others, a declaration that the publication and airing of the documentary breached Section 95 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 and Section 2(g) – (n) of the NBC Act 2010.

    The plaintiffs also urged the court to award N50b in exemplary and aggravated damages against the defendants, and in their (plaintiffs’) favour.

    They equally sought an order directing the 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th defendants (Daar Communication, NTA, PDP and Ali to publish “unreserved apologies” in the Economist of London, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Cable News Network (CNN), among others.

    When the case was mentioned Wednesday, no lawyer announced appearance for any of the parties.

    In a brief ruling, Justice John Tsoho noted that the case was filed on March 23, 2015, but that the plaintiffs failed to take any follow-up steps.

    “It (the case) is deemed abandoned. And it is hereby struck out,” the judge said.

  • Police arrest alleged killers of Dangote’s strategist

    Police arrest alleged killers of Dangote’s strategist

    Operatives of the Inspector General of Police’ (IGP) Intelligence Response Team have arrested suspected kidnappers who allegedly murdered a senior strategist with Dangote Industries Limited, Istifanus Gurama.

    Abubakar Gide,24 Babuga Adamu, 25 and Abdulahi Saliu, 22, were arrested at Ijebu Igbo forest, Epe forest in Lagos and Ipo forest in Kwara state, respectively, were they absconded to.

    The operatives led by Abba Kyari, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) also recovered three AK47 rifles and 167 live ammunition which the suspects buried inside the forest.

    It was gathered that the kidnappers were the ones who led the police where the deceased was dumped and also disclosed their armoury.

    Gurama was taken hostage about three weeks ago at Ijebu Igbo in Ogun State, after he went to secure the release of four expatriates and a Nigerian working with the industry.

    It was gathered that the deceased, who usually negotiated with the kidnappers and took ransom to them for the release of their workers, was detained by the gunmen, who said they were actually after him.

    It was learnt that the firm raised money for his release which the kidnappers collected after which they killed and dumped him in a pit at Ijebu Igbo.

    His death, it was gathered, might not be unconnected to an alleged uncovering of the identities of the kidnappers said to be Fulani men.

    It was learnt that the kidnappers accused Gurama of knowing too much and also giving them away. Another source said he could have been killed because the kidnappers wanted more money.

    Confirming the arrest, police spokesman, Don Awunah, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) said the suspects were being interrogated.

    He urged Nigerians to exercise caution in negotiating with and delivering ransom to kidnappers, adding that the police should always be carried along.

    Awunah said: “It was when the IGP Ibrahim Idris learnt of the incident that he directed the IRT to fish out the kidnappers. One of them was arrested at Ijebu Igbo forest, the other one at Epe forest in Lagos and the third one at Ipo forest in Kwara State. The crime was committed at Ijebu Igbo in Ogun State. The suspects are being interrogated and would be prosecuted at the conclusion of investigation.”