The trial of six policemen accused of killing six traders (known as Apo six) in 2005 in Abuja, ended yesterday with the conviction of two of them.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Danjuma Ibrahim, Nicholas Zakaria, Sadiq Salami, Ezekiel Acheneje and Emmanuel Baba were charged to court on a nine-count charge of conspiracy and culpable homicide over the death of the six traders.
The sixth policeman, who the prosecution named in the charge, but was said to be at large – Othman Abdulsalam – was never produced in court in the course of the trial.
Justice Ishaq Bello, who is the Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), acquitted three defendants of the charge of conspiracy, but convicted Acheneje and Baba for culpable homicide and sentenced them to death.
Justice Bello discharged and acquitted Ibrahim, Zakaria and Salami on the ground that the prosecution was incapable of effectively linking the trio with the alleged crimes.
The prosecution, at trial, alleged that four of the deceased, said to be auto spare part dealers at Apo, Abuja – Ifeanyi Ozo, Chinedu Meniru, Isaac Ekene and Paul Ogbonna -were killed at a police check point on Gimbya Street, Area 11, Abuja on the night of June 7, 2005.
Anthony Nwokike and Augustina Arebun – were said to have survived the check point encounter, but allegedly shot dead later by the defendants and buried in Gaduwa Estate, Jabi District, Abuja.
Justifying his decision in relation to Achejene and Baba, Justice Bello said he had no option than to convict the two on account of their confessional statements, in which they admitted shooting Nwokike and Arebun on instruction from a superior officer.
Justice Bello said Achejene and Baba acted callously because by law and their responsibility as policemen, they were expected to preserve the lives of innocent citizens.
He said Achejene and Baba’s decision to kill the two traders, while being taken to the hospital, was condemnable, because there was no evidence that the two traders committed any crime or constituted threat to the policemen at the time they were killed.
Justice Bello said the killing of Nwokike and Arebun by Achejene and Baba was particularly painful because they were arrested by members of the public alive and handed over to the policemen only for the same police to take laws into their hands by summarily executing them.
The judge said the retraction of their written statements during their oral testimony at trial was a mere afterthought.
Justice Bello said being directed to commit a crime cannot serve as a valid cover or excuse for the commission of a crime.
As it relates to the acquitted three, Justice Bello was of the view that police investigation was unable to link them with the alleged crimes.
The judge noted that, from the totality of the evidence placed before the court, the prosecution could not establish the charge of conspiracy, because it was unable to convince the court that the defendants met and agreed to kill the deceased who were returning from a night club along Gimbiya Street in Abuja on June 7, 2005.
On the prosecution’s claim that DCP Ibrahim allegedly seized an AK 47 from one of the policemen at the check point and shot the traders in their Peugeot 406, the judge said the allegation collapsed in the face of contradictions from two prosecution witnesses, to the effect that Ibrahim never seized a gun or fired at the traders.
Justice Bello said there was no dispute as to the fact that the DCP was having a service pistol on him and he never fired any shot with the service pistol.
The judge frowned at the quality of investigation conducted by the police on the incident of June 7 and 8, 2005.
He said if the investigators were diligent enough to have obtained DCP Ibrahim’s finger print, the doubt over whether or not he handled the AK 47 said to have been used in killing, would have been erased.
On the circumstance leading to the death of the four killed during the check point encounter, the judge said the issue remained ambiguous and vague because the prosecution was unable to establish those responsible for the killing.
”The prosecution said there was no objection by the defendants against the admission of the statements in evidence during trial.
“I have examined the two confessional statements by both the fourth and fifth accused persons, they are in clear admission of the use of Ak47 in shooting the boy and the girl respectively.
“I cannot therefore be in doubt that the retraction is an afterthought, a deliberate attempt to distort the facts.
“It (was) further clearly stated by the fourth defendant that he shot the boy and so the girl by the fifth defendant.
“At this point, I suppose to recall the wisdom exhibited by the prosecution in articulating three things for the commission of the alleged various offences as charged.
“First at the scene of the event on June 7, 2005; secondly, Garki Police Station and thirdly Gaduwa Estate.”
The judge added that under the Nigerian law, Acheneje and Baba’s defence that they were ordered by their superiors to shoot the two survivors was unacceptable.
He said: “If the defendants were relying on the fact that policemen were attacked at the stop-and-search point on June 7, 2005, hence the need to respond with fire in order to protect themselves, since they were at their duty post, a position which I have to agree with in view of all that was put before the court, I’m in pain to note that in the testimony of the defendants there was nothing in form of evidence to show that the two – the boy and the girl – did anything that constituted a threat to the defendants.
“And it was not in a situation where the defendants were pursuing the boy while running to escape.
“The boy was found by members of the public and submitted to the defendant who then shot him, the fourth defendant.
“This is a case of impunity of the highest order. The admission of commission of the crime by both the fourth and fifth defendants is unequivocal as submitted by the prosecution.”
The judge held that being directed to commit a crime could never serve as a valid cover.
He held that it was “folly” for the convicts to think they could be “discharged on the ground of ‘I am directed’.”
He held: “What should be noted is that, it is the law that in whatever field of human endeavours there is always requirement for obedience to law superior order. Indeed, no one can hide behind directive either by the state or any superior officer to commit a crime.
“It is folly therefore for the defendants to think that they could be absolved of any criminal act on grounds of ‘I’m directed’.
“The prosecution has proved the charge of against the fourth and fifth accused beyond reasonable doubt in the exception of charge of conspiracy which I earlier ruled in favour of all the defendants.
“Accordingly, the fourth and the fifth defendants each, is hereby convicted for the offence of culpable homicide punishable by death under Section 221(a) of Penal Code.”
The judge discharged and acquitted three other accused on the basis that police investigation failed to link them with the alleged crimes.
The judge noted that the case was poorly investigated with key elements such as fingerprints evidence, analysis of bullets used to kill the victims being absent in the ballistician’s report tendered by the prosecution.
He said: “I wish to also observe that the investigation of this case leaves much to be desired.
“To say it is deliberate cannot be out of place, after all, it is before this court by evidence, that one of the police witnesses, expressly stated that they were never allowed to investigate this case.”
The judge rejected the allocutus (plea for mercy) made separately by lawyers to Acheneje and Baba shortly after the judgment was delivered.
He said his hands were tied as he must impose the punishment of death provided for by the law.
