The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Justice

  • Justice non-negotiable

    •The death of Citizen Eyitayo in the hands of DSS operatives should be probed

    How did 39-year-old Damilare Eyitayo die? His family members allege that he was tortured to death by officials of the Lagos Command of the Department of State Services (DSS). This is a grave accusation. The alleged use of torture makes a statement about the gravity of the tragedy.  It is particularly tragic that Eyitayo died in the alleged circumstances because he was not even a direct suspect in the matter. It is a reflection of the foggy and suspicious circumstances of his death that it has become the subject of a request for a coroner’s inquest to the Attorney General, Lagos State Ministry of Justice.

    The family lawyer, Babs Animashaun, said: “We were informed that the deceased was arrested because he was a friend to a suspect that the DSS was interested in arresting. We were also informed that it was the wife of the suspect, after she had been beaten by the gun-wielding officials that told them her husband was not around and led them to the house of the deceased.”

    He continued: “When the DSS operatives got to the deceased’s house, he was thoroughly beaten before he was taken away. We were informed that the deceased died same day in the DSS custody. We hereby request that an inquest be conducted into the circumstances of the death of the deceased to ascertain the cause and manner of death.”

    This request should be taken seriously. It is about the death of one man allegedly at the hands of state security agents. But perhaps more than this, it is about possible abuse of power that constitutes a death-threat to members of the public.

    The other side of the story, by the Lagos State DSS Director, Kunle Ajanaku, is so distant from the family’s version that it should prompt the authorities to pursue the truth and establish what happened to Eyitayo and how he died. It is clear that the two accounts can’t both be true.

    Ajanaku said: “It is regrettable that the man died. We do not engage in extrajudicial killing. When you talk of the best practices in terms of human rights and how we detain suspects, the DSS comes near first. This is a syndicate that has been able to clone the phone number of a governor. The state government submitted a petition that all the suspects involved should be arrested and prosecuted.”

    He further said: “Some of the suspects were traced to the deceased’s house. It took surveillance and technicality for weeks to trace his place. Instead of him to cooperate with officials, he resisted and turned violent. When they managed to take him into the vehicle, he struggled and escaped from the van. He was pursued and in the process, he fell down twice. As a result of his violence, we handcuffed and chained him. When he was brought to our office here, we saw his condition and rushed him to the hospital. He died while in the hospital. We have sent the case file to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions for advice. We are ready to listen to the family. An autopsy will be conducted; we do not have anything to hide.”

    It is disturbing that this case again brings up a recurrent charge against the DSS. The agency’s image has been tainted by allegations that it employs extra-legal methods in carrying out its functions.  It is a sad irony that an agency which should symbolise the supremacy of the law is linked with supreme lawlessness.

    A proper and thorough investigation should be carried out as a matter of urgency to reassure the public that justice is non-negotiable. And justice should be done indeed.

  • Justice seeks review of legal education curriculum

    Justice seeks review of legal education curriculum

    Justice Centus Chima Nweze of the Supreme Court has  called for a review of the legal education curriculum.

    This, he said, will ensure Nigeria produces lawyers who can compete with the best abroad.

    Justice Nweze spoke at the monthly meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Abuja branch,  hosted by the law firm of J-K Gadzama LLP at J-K Gadzama Court.

    He said: “We canvass the view that law scholars in Nigeria should re-imagine the intellectual content and breadth of their fields of study. They should now be thinking of moulding and shaping future advocates who would have audience not only in Nigerian courts but also in the global community of courts.

    “This is even more so since Nigerians are found in virtually all corners of the globe. These Nigerians in the Diaspora are either engaged in trans-national trades or businesses or other forms of endeavour.

    “The question may be posed: of what use would the Nigerian lawyer be to such global Nigerians  if the Contract Law curriculum, for example, does not transcend the traditional English Law assumptions?” he asked.

    Justice Nweze wondered if law faculties teach their students the norms of international contract law.

    Such issues, he said, include “the world’s emerging lex mercatoria: the UNIDROIT principles of International Commercial Contracts or the UN Convention on Contracts for international sale of goods.”

    “How many Law Faculties in Nigeria teach their students that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute settlement regime possesses an attribute that international law lacks, namely, effective enforcement mechanisms?

    “Coming nearer home, we do not entertain any doubt that our professors of family law are conversant with the traditional definition of adultery as the physical infidelity of a spouse.

    “But then as Prof Karen S. Peterson has, insightfully, shown in the illuminating article, ‘Infidelity Reaches Beyond Having Sex,’ new forms of social media and virtual communication are shaping the way relationships (including extra-marital physical and nonphysical relationships) are conducted.

    “More communication takes place outside the confines of marriage—even if still within the home. His finding is that cybersex and virtual affairs on the Internet are popular areas of interest among professionals, who study spousal infidelity.

    “Against this background, therefore, the question may be asked: how many Family law teachers have given a thought to whether ‘virtual adultery’ should constitute actionable conduct in divorce proceedings under the Matrimonial Causes Act?

    “The expression ‘virtual adultery’ has been defined as ‘non-physical behaviour that adopts one or more aspects of a romantic relation-ship and consequently creates disconnect in the marriage.’”

    Justice Nweze said the curriculum on the criminal justice system also needs a review.

    “It would no longer suffice to teach the elements of the offences of murder; manslaughter; rape etc under the domestic penal statutes.

    “Since Nigeria has ratified and would, hopefully, some day domesticate the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), our young advocates would, if properly groomed now, be the future prosecutors and defence lawyers for persons who would be charged with the offences defined in the Statute.

    “Instructively, due to the complimentarity principle in the Rome Statute, the domestic courts have the primary responsibility of prosecuting offences under the Statute. It is only where the country is unwilling or unable to prosecute that prosecution at the ICC can commence through the trigger mechanism

    “In order to actualise this goal, we advise young lawyers to embark on an integrated course on Criminal Law which, expectedly, would include a comparative study of the features and elements of the above offences with the features and characteristics of international crimes.

    International crimes bear certain peculiar characteristics that distinguish them from ordinary municipal crimes. They are offences that violate the bristle bond of humanity; hence, an offender is seen as hostis humani generis, an enemy of mankind.

    “As young advocates who would shape the future of legal practice in Nigeria, we implore you to note that the Evidence Act, 2011, did not take account of these, and other developments that would enhance expeditious trials.

    “Although, these developments have been codified in some jurisdictions, only time would tell whether they would be adopted as part of our adjectival law on digital evidence,”  Justice Nweze said.

  • Ondo gets justice reform team  

    the Ondo State Justice Sector Reform Team (OSJRT) will be inaugurated today in Akure, the state capital.

    It will be a prelude to a three-day retreat for members that will end on Wednesday.

    Commissioner for Information Kayode Akinmade said the inauguration will take place at the State Development and Property Corporation (OSDPC) Event Centre, Ijapo Estate, Akure.

    The team, in partnership with the Justice for All Programme (J4A), will address some of the challenges in the administration of justice in the state.

    The programme will be carried out in conjunction with the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC).

  • Housewife demands justice for alleged police eviction, harassment

    Housewife demands justice for alleged police eviction, harassment

    A woman is demanding justice after some policemen acting on ‘Court order’, stormed her home and forcibly evicted them.

    But it turned out that the said court order was implemented on the wrong house, at which point, most of their properties have been allegedly damaged.

    The incident occurred on 21, Akintunde Street, Onike, Yaba at about 11:30am last Thursday.

    Mrs Medina Billy, a mother of two, who took to social media to complain about the lawlessness in the country, said about 30 policemen and 25 touts stormed her home not willing to listen to the occupants.

    “I was in my flat on the penthouse when one of the policemen ordered I should come down that there is a problem. I asked, they did not explain what the problem was but they insisted I come downstairs. Upon coming downstairs, the policeman said they have an order from Lagos High Court to take possession of our residence.

    “I asked them I needed to go upstairs and contact the landlord so that they can speak with him to clarify the issue. As I was going upstairs, about four policemen and up to 10 touts followed me right into my sitting room. I was confused. Before I could find my phone and put a call through to my husband to contact the landlord, they started carrying my property and throwing them through the veranda downstairs.

    “I was carrying my one-year-old baby who had started wailing in fright in all the confusion. I did not have enough credit on my phone at the time so I begged one of the policemen to use his phone and he refused flatly. I managed to get one of the touts to use his phone.

    “I called my husband and handed the phone to one of the policemen who did not allow him to speak only telling him in a very rude manner that they have an order from the court. The landlord also called in and engaged the policemen that they must be in the wrong property as he holds a court settlement of almost 20 years ago on the property.

    “They shouted him down on the phone and continued throwing our things out which damaged most of my property. Imagine throwing wall AC and CD deck down a two storey building! My sitting room chairs were hauled from that height as well.

    “Eventually, my landlord succeeded in getting his lawyer to contact the plaintiff’s lawyers (Ayinde Sanni & Co) to cross check their books and be sure they sent the policemen and thugs to the right property. They must have realised their mistake and contacted the policemen and thugs who have already vandalised our property and traumatised us by locking us and our property outside the gate.

    “They now came back to open the gate without an apology and shouted we may go back in. Some of the touts now said we should pay them to pack our things back in.

    “When we started expressing our frustration and shouting at them that President Muhammadu Buhari must hear this, some of the thugs came back again to throw us out and said we should call President Buhari while the policemen looked on without doing anything! They later opened the gate after they have made sure we were intimidated and left,” she said.

    Continuing, the angry woman said a lot of their properties were damaged and some things were missing in their home.

    She decried the manner with which the policemen conducted themselves, describing it as horrible and disgraceful.

    According to her, the whole operation was evidence that there’s no law in the country, wondering how law enforcement officers will, without remorse, treat citizens in such a manner.

    “Attempts to take the pictures of the policemen were met with violence and threats. We are currently speaking to our lawyers as we must get justice for this carelessness by the lawyers of the plaintiffs and the policemen and the inhumane treatment meted on us.

    “There is no law in this country anymore. Before, I was explaining to them that they came to the wrong house because we have two House 21 in our street, but they didn’t listen. I said to myself: Where is the law in the country since police that were meant to support and protect the citizens of this country were the ones pointing guns at the citizens?”

  • Parents seek justice over son’s death

    Parents seek justice over son’s death

    •Police: he died of cardiac arrest

    How did a 19-year old barber, Gafar Ayoola, die after his arrest by the police last Friday at Oyingbo Market in Ebute Meta, Lagos Mainland?

    A source at Denton Police Station claimed that Ayoola was tortured to death by his colleagues despite not finding any incriminating evidence on the late suspect.

    The policemen allegedly hanged and beat him until he passed out following his arrest for “wandering” by a corporal.

    When the late Ayoola became unconscious, the policemen called their Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and told him the suspect was dying. But the DPO told them the late suspect was just “pretending”.

    When his men insisted that the late suspect was not pretending, the DPO was said to have directed them to take him to the hospital, where he died.

    The police source told The Nation that the suspect’s body was taken to Lagos Mainland Hospital Mortuary at Yaba, without notifying his parents.

    The source claimed that the teenager was tortured and rushed to a hospital on Kano Street, where he died.

    “The boy’s parents reside at 16, Bridge Road, Otto in Ebute-Meta but he was a barber at Okoafo in Badagry.

    “A corporal arrested him around 8:30am at Oyingbo bus stop. The corporal claimed the boy was wandering but nothing was found on him to indicate he was a suspect.

    “I don’t like the way the boy was tortured. The boy was hanged as if he was a notorious armed robber or kidnapper. The worst part is that the station wants to shield the corporal for killing an innocent just like that.

    “The DPO was not around when the boy was arrested and beaten. He was only called on phone and when he was appealing to the bereaved father for peace on Saturday, he told the man that Gafar belonged to a four-man gang of cultists and armed robbers. He claimed that his three other accomplices escaped and that they have been on wanted list. That is a lie. There’s no allegation against him and no exhibit was found on him,” the source said.

    The bereaved parents, Mr and Mrs Sulaiman Ayoola, said some people that told one of their sons that his brother had been arrested.

    Ayoola, a private security guard with First Bank, told The Nation that he was shocked when one of his sons called him around 10pm to tell him that Gafar was arrested and killed by the police.

    “It was around 10pm that one of my sons called me. I was still at work and he told me that he was on his way home when he saw people gathered and they told him that Gafar was arrested by the police and killed.

    “At first, I did not understand what he meant because I did not even understand why police would arrest my son. So, I quickly left for the police station, I asked to see my son whom they arrested in the morning.

    “Initially, they denied arresting him. They showed me the names of suspects in their custody and my son’s name was not there. I told them that the person who arrested my son was one Corporal Taiwo but they claimed there was no officer with that name in their station.

    “After much argument, they told me to come back on Saturday after environmental sanitation because the DPO was not around, which I did. By the time I got there on Saturday morning, most of my people were already around and I think they were scared that the people, out of anger might do something crazy.

    “Then, the DPO called us inside and he started begging us to take heart. That we should go and take the body at Mainland Hospital. That the boy was arrested for ‘wandering’ and he died of cardiac arrest, probably because he has never been arrested before.”Despite their effort to cover up the evil they did to my son, whom they did not find any incriminating thing on; at the station, we were told by some people who did not like what happened to the boy that he was hanged and tortured. They said the policemen hanged him and were beating him until he collapsed.

    “The DPO begged us to go and collect the body and bury him but I have not gone there. I cannot go there. My son cannot die like that because he’s not a criminal. I want President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and all Nigerians to help me get justice for my son. Why did the police kill my son and they tried to cover up his death? Why did they arrest my boy without telling anyone? Why are they covering up the officer who arrested my son for ‘wandering’? I need justice for my son,” he said.

    Police spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent (SP), said the case would be investigated adding:

    “It was learnt that shortly after he was arrested and brought to the division, he complained that he was feeling sick and he was rushed to the hospital. It was while he was receiving treatment at the hospital that he passed on.

    “The leadership of the command and the Force in general are keen about entrenchment of and respect for human rights. The police abhor any form of torture. Therefore, I believe no officer will take that risk. However, we will commence an investigation into the case,” she said.

  • Let justice prevail

    Let justice prevail

    We commend Lagos government’s efforts in ensuring that victims of the Synagogue tragedy did not die in vain

    Now that the inculpated have been arraigned, it is a welcome development regarding the September 2014 building-collapse tragedy at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Lagos. The avoidable disaster deserved a thorough probe and those responsible for it deserve proper punishment.

    SCOAN trustees, two engineers and their companies, will have to show that they are not culpable at an Ikeja High Court, Lagos. Justice Lawal-Akapo set the stage for the case after dismissing separate applications filed by the defendants through their counsel seeking to stay proceedings of the High Court, pending their appeal at the Court of Appeal.

    The Lagos State Government had, late last year, instituted criminal proceedings against the trustees of the church, two engineers, Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun, and their companies – Hardrock Construction and Engineering Company and Jandy Trust Limited – for their involvement in the September 12, 2014 collapse of a six-storey guest house belonging to the church, which led to the death of 116 persons.

    The 111-count charge brought against the defendants borders on criminal negligence, manslaughter and failure to obtain a building permit.

    Justice Lawal-Akapo in his April 19 ruling said: “Section 273 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) states that subject to the constitution, an application for a stay of proceedings in respect of a criminal matter before the High Court should not be entertained before the court. I find no merit in the two applications, they are lacking in merit and substance. This is a clear case of abuse of court processes to the irritation and annoyance of the court.”

    This pronouncement effectively ended the delaying tactics by the defendants who had gone to great lengths to frustrate their arraignment by filing various pre-trial applications. It amounted to a preliminary victory for the judicial process and the justice system.

    The Lagos State Government’s pursuit of justice in this matter is a commendable example of positive focus. The guest house that collapsed on the church grounds was occupied largely by visiting South Africans who numbered 349 at the time of the disaster. Significantly, South African President Jacob Zuma captured the degree of his country’s loss in a statement. He said: “Not in the recent history of our country have we had this large number of our people die in one incident outside the country.”

    It is laudable that the Lagos State Government in particular launched a probe into the incident. Particularly creditable was the role played by the then state governor, Babatunde Fashola, whose presence at the scene helped to establish a proper emergency response by excluding obstructive members of the church who initially blocked official emergency responders and unreasonably viewed the happening as an internal affair.

    Curiously, the church leader, Prophet Temitope Joshua, came up with stories that sounded far-fetched in his effort to clarify what happened. He released security camera footage which showed a “strange aircraft” flying over the church a number of times before the building collapsed. He also presented an email suggesting an earlier failed plot to bomb the church by the Islamist guerilla force Boko Haram which has been promoting terroristic activities mainly in the country’s northern region.

    This apparent appeal to pity and the discernible objective of painting a picture of victimhood, apart from being unsupported by persuasive proof, critically failed to address the more fundamental and  evidential issues surrounding the crumbling of the building. The church will not only need to show that it obtained official approval for the modification of the collapsed guest house; it will also have to provide evidence of compliance with best practices. Reports said the affected building was originally a three-storey structure which was being raised to accommodate three additional floors.

    Without being judgmental ahead of the trial, it is noteworthy that the then General Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Mrs. Abimbola Animashaun, was quoted as saying: “We have investigated and found that they had no approval for the additional structures.”

    Although Pastor Joshua’s status is unclear regarding the membership of the church’s board of trustees, he cannot distance himself from the tragedy because as the church leader he is the face of the church. It is intriguing that Pastor Joshua did all he could to thwart the coroner’s inquest that led to the arraignment of the church’s trustees and the engineers involved in the construction of the collapsed building. Pastor Joshua’s posturing while the inquest was ongoing, and his legal effort to stop it, spoke volumes for the obstacles that the Lagos State Government had to overcome to reach this juncture.

    It is in the public interest to get to the bottom of this matter. Individual and institutional culpability in the tragedy must be established and penalised according to the law. The government’s bold step towards a resolution must be taken to a logical conclusion. It is important to point out that the international dimension of the tragic incident means that the world is watching and waiting to see whether justice will prevail.

  • Braithwaite: Legacy of social justice

    SIR: It was Robert Kennedy, the former United States Attorney General who once said: ‘Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centres of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance’.

    This statement underscores the life and times of Tunji Braithwaite as a staunch advocate of human rights and social justice. He gained singular reputation in his own right as one of the finest leaders of the pro democracy movement in Nigeria. He electrified the country with his passionate speeches for democracy and social reforms. He was an outspoken defender of fiscal federalism, the poor and a champion of education, rule of law and other issues confronting the Nigerian state.

    His political and social construct recognise the evil forces and economic constraints surrounding the oligarchic political regime in Nigeria with a profound understanding of social change dynamics and outcomes and he also paid an exceptional attention to the quality of state institutions, the design of public policy, and the promotion of self-directed role of leaders and stewardship in nation – building efforts.

    Indeed, Braithwaite’s exit from the political landscape marked the beginning of the end of courage, character, vision and ideology. He belonged to the last generation of welfare and pro-people ideologist who participated in the struggle for national liberation through the demand human rights and he became a revolutionary force for the enthronement of civil rule in Nigeria. His political and legal activism was driven by great intellectual and ideological ferment and his words ring true today. His austere political leadership and intellectual notions of human rights continue to expand today and no doubt enrich the political conversation on the national question and the urgent need to tinker with the territorial dimensions of the contrived Nigeria state. He represents a socio – political movement that is unequalled in the Second Republic politics in Nigeria particularly in the area of political party formation, organisation and ideology devoid of ethnicity and religious colouration of that era.

    As we celebrate the exit of Nigeria’s finest social crusader and political reformist, it is painfully clear that ‘mosquitoes and rats’ are still looting the commonwealth with reckless abandon and the tragedy of the Nigerian situation is that majority of the elite are still engaged in misappropriation of public wealth squirreled away in offshore accounts which weigh down social investment and development. Nigerian elites have failed to transform their political kingdoms into ecstasy. The inescapable image, therefore, is a picture of a people deprived of their basic needs in conditions of extreme hardship as state mangers and leaders fail to or seem incapable of advancing policies and programmes that would alleviate the plight of the ordinary man which Braithwaite championed and campaigned for in the last 50 years of his political activism.

    Finally, as a national reformer and a social rights campaigner, he may have been disappointed that Nigeria’s political landscape is still infested with ‘mosquitoes and rats’, but he would certainly be inspired if in the nearest future we play by the rule of law, popular democracy and social justice. There is a silver lining but we must be vigilant as a people in need of progress and development. That is the greatest mark of respect we can pay to a political and civil rights movement icon. Tunji Braithwaite made a difference.

     

    • Samuel Akpobome Orovwuje,

    Lagos

  • UNICAL sex-for-marks crisis: Family of assaulted girl press for justice

    The parents of a 400- Level female law undergraduate of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) whose test paper was torn by Cyril Osim Ndifon, a professor of Law and Dean of the Faculty over sex-related matters, have vowed to get justice for their daughter who claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Prof Ndifon  on Saturday August 29, last year.

    The aggrieved parents said the family decided to grant the an  interview in reaction to the story with the title: “sex-for-marks” published in The Nation Newspaper of Thursday, March 22, 2016 involving Prof Ndifon and their daughter, Sinemobong Nkang which, according to them has become messy.

    Ndifon has been on suspension since September last year by the authorities of UNICAL following a petition to forwarded by the victim to the then vice chancellor, Prof James Ekpoke. In the petition, the victim alleged that she was raped by Ndifon in his private office which situates on the last floor of a 2- storey Faculty of Law Building (not the official dean’s office located on the first floor), while she was rewriting a test on Law of Trust which was earlier torn to shreds by the accused.

    The Nkangs blamed the police for failure to act swiftly when the matter was reported to the Airport Road Police Station, Calabar that same day.

    “The police went to the scene six days after the report was lodged. This indicates compromise”, said the parents. The case was later moved to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Calabar following another petition by a feminist NGO, the Nigerian Feminist which expressed displeasure in the handling of the case.

    The Nkangs said another feminist group Diamond Hill, Calabar, moved the matter to the Force Headquarters at Abuja, adding that investigation is still ongoing.

    When contacted, the Pro Chancellor of the University, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyawu, told The Nation on phone that the Governing Council had directed that Prof Ndifon be suspended indefinitely, after his response to the query given him by the university authority.

    “For now he is officially on suspension, he is not within the university system and will remain so pending the conclusion of investigations,” Iwuanyawu, said.

     

  • Slain building merchant’s family cries out for justice

    Slain building merchant’s family cries out for justice

    The Elegushi family of Lagos has cried out for justice over the death of its son, Yusuf.

    Yusuf Elegushi, a University of Lagos (UNILAG) Business Administration graduate was shot dead last Thursday by suspected hoodlums.

    He was chairman of Building Materials Suppliers, Alaguntan Village chapter in Ajah, Lagos.

    His father, Chief Muritala Adedoyin Elegushi, is urging Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni to bring the killers to justice.

    He said his son was hit in the chest by a bullet while trying to rescue a victim that was earlier shot.

    Elegushi said the assailants escaped, adding that his son was rushed to the hospital where he was confirmed dead.

    According to him, there was a disagreement between the hoodlums and a man two days earlier over N3,000 and the leader of the hoodlums was injured in the jaw.

    Elegushi said the gang mobilised to revenge and his son was killed.

    He said the incident was reported at Ogombo Police Station and three of the suspects were arrested, adding that the matter has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) at Panti, Yaba.

    Elegushi, who described his son as quiet and easygoing, said the late father of two had planned to mark his 26th birthday next month.

    He said the family had petitioned the governor and Owoseni to arrest and prosecute the suspected hoodlums’ leader.

    Elegushi said that was not the first time the gang would kill innocent people in the area, adding that such killings were swept under the carpet.

    He accused the suspected hoodlums of killing people at Alaguntan Village, Ikota, Olukotun, Gedegede, Moba, Isakaba and Mabro Estate.

    Police spokesperson Dolapo Badmus, a Superintendent (SP), confirmed that the case has been transferred to the SCID for further investigation.

    The arrested persons, she said, are

  • Family demands justice over artiste’s ‘illegal’ arrest

    Family demands justice over artiste’s ‘illegal’ arrest

    •Police: we acted on petition

    Were the police used to intimidate an artiste, Adekunle Balogun, aka Dragnet, and his family at Oke-Afa in Isolo Local Council Development Area of Lagos State last Friday?

    Residents of Low Cost Housing Estate at Oke-Afa are accusing the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) operatives of inhuman treatment of Dragnet while arresting him last Friday.

    The two men in FSARS outfit reportedly stormed the Baloguns’ Block 435 Flat 5 home, to arrest Dragnet based on a petition by a neighbour, Adeyemi Bello.

    The FSARS men allegedly pounced on Dragnet, who was washing his brother’s car,  before confirming his identity.

    “After attacking me from behind, I asked ‘what happened? What did I do? They said ‘are you Adekunle Balogun? I replied ‘yes.’ The next thing was they handcuffed my legs and started dragging me on the floor as if I am a hardened criminal,” Dragnet told The Nation.

    The Nation learnt that the police action infuriated his neighbours, who wondered why he was being “maltreated”.

    The residents were seen in a video footage, asking: “What has he done?”; “Where is the arrest warrant?”; “You will kill somebody here;” “You are on inhuman errand;” “You can’t take him away;” “Whoever sent you to do this should fear God;” “God will punish you for this maltreatment;” “He is not going anywhere;” “You are going to kill everybody here;”

    Dragnet’s mother, Mrs Balogun, who strapped a baby on her back, was also seen in the video crying and beckoning on people to help save her son. “My son is not a robber. He has not stolen anybody’s thing. How come he is being treated in this manner? Help me! He didn’t do anything. Don’t let these people kill my son.”

    Dragnet was taken to Ejigbo Police Station and transferred to SARS Headquarters in Ikeja.

    According to his elder brother, Tajudeen Balogun, whose car he was washing, all efforts to get him released on Friday failed.

    He said Dragnet was released on Saturday after the police found out that Bello’s petition was false.

    “He petitioned the police that my brother broke his car side glass and stole N500,000 inside his car. Can you imagine that? When we got to the station on Saturday, they didn’t mention the false allegation again only for the officers to say that the matter be settled and everybody left Ikeja after my brother was released. Does that mean my brother will just suffer for nothing? What about the stress Bello put other family members and neighbours into since Friday? This is a big slap on our face and it is injustice,” he said.

    Dragnet told The Nation that the officers came to do a hatchet job, describing their action as unprofessional.

    The artiste said: “On Friday morning, I was upstairs, washing the plates before my brother asked me to go and clean his car. When I got downstairs around 7:30 am, I was pouring water on the car when I just felt someone clearing me off my feet from behind and asking me who I am. I was explaining myself to him and before I could say anything again, he had put an handcuff on my legs without him mentioning the offence I committed. I saw another man who was dressed in a police uniform instructing the other officer to handcuff me.

    “I said to him, what is the meaning of all this that I am not that kind of person,  that I am an artiste and that even if he wants to do anything,  he should take it easy with me and that he should look at how he is molesting me.

    “At this time, they have already handcuffed my legs; the thing was tight and it was paining me. People rushed to call my family members and people came out with their cameras and were asking what is happening? Who are they?

    “They asked them to lose the handcuff on my legs but they didn’t. The officers told them that if they want to confirm anything they should follow them to Ejigbo Police Station. As we were on our way to the station, they did not say anything to us neither did we say anything to them.  On getting to the police station, they went through a register to confirm the names on the register and as they were going through it, one of the policemen just shouted ‘arrest this man’. From there, I was taken to Ikeja.”

    Police spokesperson Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police (SP), told The Nation that there was a petition against Dragnet.

    Badmos accused Dragnet of resisting arrest, asking: “Is that proper? It is high time that our people recognised that police is police and have the right to arrest anyone deemed fit. Let’s start respecting our own police but I am glad that when they got there (headquarters) the Officer-in-Charge looked into the matter and found out that it was a neighbourhood issue and urged them to resolve it amicably.”

    She urged the Baloguns to petition the Commissioner of Police if they believed that their rights have been trampled upon.

    Some of their neighbours told The Nation that Bello “is fond of using policemen from Ejigbo Police Station to harass us. We need Commissioner of Police to look into the activities of his men at Ejigbo.”

    Contacted, Bello yelled at our reporter, saying: “Why are you disturbing me? Don’t call my number again. Are you mad? What is your business with me? You must be mad.”

    He later called the reporter with another line, raining abuses on him.

    Bello also threatened the reporter, saying: “I am going to make an official report on you for your jungle journalism.”