Unlawful Detention: Human Rights Commission Investigates FSars Magbon
National Human Rights Commission(NHRC) has begun investigation against
the some erring Police officers attached to Federal Special
Anti-Robbery Squad, Magbon in Ogun State on alleged threat to Life,
unlawful arrest and abuse of office.
According to the Commission’s Letter with number
C/2019/CPR/2256-2258/HQ, dated 7th of May ,2019 and signed by an
officer of the Commission, Faith Okeosisi, who is in charged of Civil
and Political Rights on behalf of its Executive Secretary.
The Letter titled, Re: Alleged threat to life,unlawful arrest and
abuse of office against some police officers of Magbon FSARS,
Abeokuta,Ogun state and forwarded to the Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi
Sulaiman, who received it on behalf of Centre for Human Rights and
Social Justice(CHRSJ).
The letter read in part; “The Commission is in receipt of your
Complaint dated 25th March, 2019 on the above subject matter and the
complaint has been registered as : C/2019/CPR/2255-2258/HQ and it is
receiving attention.Progress in our treatment of the complaint will be
communicated to you in due course”.
The Commission Letter was necessitated by the complaint over the
plight of police brutality of one Mr. Mutiu Adekunle, for detaining him
illegally for five-day at their office located at Magbon in Ogun
State.
Speaking on the issue on Tuesday,Comrade Sulaiman disclosed that
Adekunle’s ordeal began on Tuesday, 23rd of August, 2016 when the
operatives stormed his office located at 5 Kodesoh Street, Ikeja,
Lagos demanding to see a colleague named Kamarudeen Hamzat (popularly
known as Alfa) who was not around when the police officers came.
CHRSJ boss said that though many of the officers of the FSARS,Magbon
have never acted professionally in their operations, he lamented that
many of them (the officers) have not been bearing their real names,
rather they are known by their aliases by residents of the various
communities.
He listed the errant police officers as bearing the following names;
Swagger, Raufu, Bullet and Teejay whom he stated are currently
undergoing investigation at the Kidnapping Department within the Zone
2 Command of the force located at Onikan, Lagos.
“We are happy that the trial of these officers is being carried out in
response to a petition filed by the victim dated 19th September 2016
and it’s being handled by an one officer, Abraham Otitoloju
(07034324783 or 08082033286),” he said.
The activist revealed that the intervention of the police authorities
led to the recovery of some of the items stolen from Adekunle and
others but that two of the errant officers have refused to return the
items in their possession since 2016 till date.
He listed the errant police officers as bearing the following names;
Swagger, Raufu, Bullet and Teejay whom he stated are currently
undergoing investigation at the Kidnapping Department within the Zone
2 Command of the force located at Onikan, Lagos but frowning at the
way the matter was being handled at the Zonal Command of the Police by
saying that they would push the group to approach the law court for
recovery of the items and also sought for damages on fundamental human
rights of the victim.
Some of the items carted away from those who were illegally arrested
and detained included android phones, ipads, laptops and other
instruments being used to repair handsets and other electronic
products and.
Meanwhile, Sulaiman who doubles as National Coordinator, Coalition of Civil and
Human Rights Organizations (COCHRO), challenged Ogun State Police
Public Relations Officer(PPRO), Abimbola Oyeyemi, who used to support
the illegality of the men of the force in the State by blackmailing
anybody who was trying to expose the atrocities of the Police officers
attached to Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad(F-SARS),described
Oyeyemi as a pathological liar.
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