The Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) has passed a vote of no confidence on the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Abuja, to conduct objective findings into the criminal aspects of the land dispute between the Okpanam community and Issele-Azagba people in Oshimili North and Aniocha North Council areas of Delta State respectively.
The body called on Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, to oversee the panel that would investigate issues bordering on criminal aspects of the land dispute between the communities for justice into the matter that has claimed five and destroyed property belonging to innocent citizens on both sides.
The lingering land dispute between the neighboring communities claimed five, including two policemen killed three years ago and three community youths shot dead at a close range
by gunmen in March 2024 with a policeman shot on the leg and property worth millions destroyed on both occasions.
Making the appeal for IGP Egbetokun’s takeover of criminal aspects of the investigation, CDHR in a statement by its national President, Comrade (Dr.) Kehinde Prince Taiga, noted it has become very expedient for the Police boss to directly preside on the matter so that the culprits, no matter how influential or wealthy they maybe, would be made to face justice.
It also recommended that the IGP work with credible senior police officers who would not want to compromise their years of policing career for pecuniary gains in the course of their investigations and report their findings directly to the IGP’s office for further administrative directives that would lead to justice, equity and fairness in the matter.
The body also aligned itself with the recommendations of the Police Service Commission (PSC) based on the petition by the Okpanam community that the IGP should henceforth stop assigning policemen to any of the parties involved pending when all the issues have been resolved, stating that this is the only way to guarantee that none community indigenes were oppressed.
It faulted the impressions by a group, South-South Professionals & Transparency Initiatives (SSPTI)
that Okpanam people are scared to visit the FCID office in Abuja, to either make statements or submit relevant documents relating to its ownership claim of disputed land with Issele-Azagba people.
Describing the Okpanam indigenes as law-abiding citizens, CDHR disclosed that the people have made their statements on the criminal aspects of the dispute to the IGP Monitoring team, also under FCID and petitioned Police Service Commission (PSC) on the same issue and were prepared to tender land ownership documents in a court of competent jurisdiction once the case gets to that stage.
Parts of the statement read: “CDHR attention has been drawn to a recent statement credited to a group, South-South Professionals & Transparency Initiatives (SSPTI), where it tried to mislead the public to believing that the Okpanam people were the ones frustrating investigations because they have refused to appear before the FCID investigating team in Abuja, to submit claims of land ownership.
“We want make it clear that land disputes are civil cases and therefore outside the purview of the police. So the call on the Okpanam people to tender ownership documents before any investigating team set up by IGP Egbetokun does not hold water, as only a court of competent jurisdiction can adjudicate on such disputes.
“It is therefore surprising to see a group claiming Okpanam people are frustrating investigations into the case because they are scared to appear before the investigating team set up by IGP Egbetokun, to tender ownership documents, when in the actual sense the police does not have the right to determine land owners.
“However, for the avoidance of doubt and for the records, as a law abiding citizens, the Okpanam people have since tendered their statement and petition to the IGP Monitoring team operating as a unit under FCID to further demonstrate that they are not scared of any transparent investigation process”.
CDHR argued Okpanam people deliberately did not visit the FCID office in Abuja because they were not convinced they could get objective and fair hearing from the investigating team based on their findings on the closeness of some senior officers with highly influential individuals who have vested interests in the case.
It noted: “CDHR is more concerned about getting justice for those who were killed and lost their property to the lingering land dispute between Okpanam and Issele-Azagba communities, as such we have taken it upon ourselves to call on IGP Egbetokun, to personally take charge of investigating the criminal aspect of the case, so that justice can prevail at the end.
“Our appeal to the IGP was borne out of the fact that the Okpanam have their reservations in getting fair hearing from the FCID investigating team and have therefore gone to the IGP Monitoring Team and PSC to tender their statements and petitions so that the Police boss can take the appropriate measures in their quest for justice and fairness”.
