As debates shift from issues of good governance to electoral calculations and permutations towards 2013, it is important that civic-minded citizens keep in focus and sustain public debate on pending disturbing developments in Anambra State.
If we say we prefer democracy and desire human rights protected by the rule of law, then we must be worried about the many ruthless and antidemocratic policies and actions of the Anambra State government which impact on public safety, security and justice. I am particularly concerned about Mr. Peter Obi’s attitude and governance style that flagrantly violates the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, erodes human rights, threatens public safety and subverts the due process and the rule of law.
The most outstanding issues are:
1. The Anambra state government’s failure and/or neglect to ensure effective investigation to unravel and/or disclose the whole truth about the outrageous sudden discovery of several floating human corpses in Ezu river in Anambra state;
2. Governor Peter Obi’s brutish and arbitrary resort to ordering and personally supervising the demolition of properties of people accused- but not yet tried or convicted- of crime in the state, and
3. The role and use of the SPECIAL ANTI RBBERY SQUAD (SARS) in committing illegalities and crime in Anambra State.
These three issues highlight the growing tendency by the Anambra State Governor to treat human life and dignity with levity, to circumvent the due process and resort to lawless approaches of governance and law enforcement capable of dragging Anambra state back to the Stone Age characterised by savagery.
The Anambra state government’s policy of arbitrary and illegal demolition of properties of persons accused of crime and the governor’s failure to ensure exhaustive investigation to unravel the truth about the Ezu River floating bodies possess the ominous potential of entrenching the culture of lawlessness and impunity, leaving behind a legacy of violence and disregard for due process and human life and ultimately undermining- if not- reversing the march towards democratic and civilised governance.
It is therefore, urgent- in my humble opinion, that stakeholders in Anambra state and relevant state and federal authorities take appropriate legal and political actions to check Mr. Peter Obi’s increasing recklessness and descent to savagery which is capable of leading to a backlash that may be more difficult to deal with if allowed to become the norm of governance in the State.
ON THE DEMOLITION OF PROPERTIES WITHOUT DUE LEGAL PROCESS AND WARRANT
The Anambra State government’s policy of extralegal demolition of properties of persons accused of crime in the state is condemnable. The governor’s rationalisation that such clearly illegal and primitive action is ‘in line with the policy of his administration to sustain the fight against crime and criminality’ is preposterous and unfounded in logic and law.
While violent crime plagues Anambra state- as in most of Nigeria- and is assuming alarming proportions, nothing whatsoever can justify any crime fighting policy or measure that is contrary to the law of the country, violates human rights, subverts the due process and undermines the rule of law. You don’t fight crime by committing another crime. Two wrongs, they say, don’t make a right! .
The hallmarks and cardinal principles of democracy include respect for human rights, compliance with the due process and observance of the rule of law. Any law enforcement or crime fighting approach that compromises or falls foul of any of these basic democratic principles will not only be unlawful and criminal but will be counterproductive. Democracy is protected by the rule of law. The absence of it will be anarchy and a threat to democracy.
The prevailing situation in Anambra State, whereby the governor demolishes the property of any person accused of a crime, without any judicial process or valid order of court amounts to lawlessness. It is a policy that promotes self help. It is susceptible to abuse and creates room for the persecution or witch hunting of political opponents or personal vendetta.
For about the third time in 2013, the governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi has been in the news for ordering and personally supervising the demolition of properties belonging to residents of Anambra state accused of crime. Last year, a suspected kidnapper’s bungalow was demolished in Oraifite. Those who condemned the action were accused by Obi’s supporters of being sympathetic to criminals and cultists. This is either ignorance or sheer mischief!
THE CASE OF MR. BONAVENTURE MOKWE
The recent case of the demolition of Mr. Bonaventure Mokwe’s Upper Class Hotel situate at 8 Old Market Road, Onitsha, on Governor Peter Obi’s orders and supervision on the allegation that two human heads, two AK47 rifles and some ammunition, among other items, were recovered from one of the rooms in the three storey structure has generated more public interest and reactions than the previous cases.
On August 1, 2013 Police detectives who claimed to be acting on a tip off allegedly swooped on the hotel and headed straight to one of the rooms where they claimed to have recovered the two human heads and the arms and ammunition. The proprietor of the hotel, Mr. Mokwe and his workers were arrested and taken to the Special Anti Robbery Squad, Awkuzu. His wife, Mrs. Nkiru Mokwe a lawyer and Chief State Counsel at the Anambra State Ministry of Justice was also arrested and detained but later released after some hours.
Governor Obi was quoted as saying that the State Government has also confiscated all assets belonging to Mr. Mokwe- the owner of the hotel.
His wife, Mrs. Nkiru Mokwe has cried foul and questioned the rationale behind the demolition of her husband’s hotel. She also raised alarm that the life of her husband was in danger. The OC SARS Awkuzu, CSP Nwafor allegedly threatened to deal with Mr. Mokwe. “My husband is being detained in a very de-humanising condition at SARS and the police have denied him access to his lawyers and relations. Government has also threatened to further demolish his plaza at Ose-Okwodu and other properties belonging to him and members of his family. Indeed, my husband has not been given a fair hearing,” his wife said.
Mr. Mokwe has remained in detention at SARS Awkuzu upto date without any indication from the police as to what next step they want to take.
Following complaints that Mr. Mokwe was detained, chained and being tortured, and fears that he may be extrajudicially killed in custody, I called and inquired from the OC SARS CSP Nwafor last week about this case and the condition of Mr. Mokwe in police custody. He only confirmed that Mr. Mokwe was still in their custody and alive. He however, refused to say whether- and how soon- the police will charge him to court or free him. Since then, I am informed that he has been unchained and his wife and counsel allowed to see him at given times of the day.
The police violate Mr. Mokwe’s right to due process and presumption of innocence by detaining him indefinitely.
Mr. Mokwe’s family insists that he was framed up by business rivals and enemies who had earlier threatened to plant incriminating objects and use the police to deal with him. They argue that the demolished hotel was a commercial property that was accessible to anyone who could pay for room rental and could implant human skulls there.
The Mokwe family said that although the police claimed to have recovered fresh human heads dripping with blood from the hotel, what they actually displayed to the media were two dry skulls.
If the police have credible evidence to prosecute the accused person, they should not further delay to charge and arraign him before a competent court of jurisdiction. His continued detention in SARS cell since the past 17 days (as at date) without trial is illegal, unconstitutional and condemnable. NOPRIN has already petitioned the Inspector General of Police on this matter.
The Nigerian Constitution contains, among other guarantees, rights to life, liberty, fair hearing and due process; prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and gives victims of human rights violations a right of access to courts for redress and remedies. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, which makes the African Charter part of Nigeria’s domestic law, reinforces these human rights guarantees which are essential for effective policing.
DEMOLITION WITHOUT COURT ORDER: AN ILLEGAL AND CRIMINAL ACT
The illegality and criminality of Governor Peter Obi’s actions are not in doubt. No state governor has any authority under any known law to confiscate or demolish anyone’s property. The governor needs an order of the court to do that. Any state law that purports to confer such powers on any governor is to the extent of its inconsistency with the constitution, null and void.
It is unspeakable and unbecoming of an elected governor to resort to lawlessness and self help by arbitrarily demolishing the properties and business premises of any person accused of crime. By so doing, the governor has constituted himself into the accuser, the prosecutor, the jury and the judge, all at once. A person suspected or accused of a crime is entitled- under the constitution- to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Both the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter guarantee the presumption of innocence and prohibit torture. The presumption of innocence is the foundation of Police investigation. Through investigation, the Police gather evidence with which to rebut the presumption in specific cases.
Governor Obi in ordering and supervising the demolition of the accused person’s property has violated his right to be presumed innocent. He has committed a crime against the law and against the victim. What happens if the owner goes to court and gets exonerated of the allegation?
Orient Newspaper of August 8, 2013 quoted the Campaign for Democracy Southeast Zone in its statement condemning the Governor’s hasty demolition of the property as saying: “A reference point had been created in the state in the case of Arthur Garden Hotel, Umusiome in Nkpor near Onitsha; where Chief Arthur Uboh, the owner of the hotel was alleged to have harboured some suspected kidnappers. Arthur Garden Hotel was sealed off pending the investigation. However, at the end, it was clear that Chief Arthur Uboh was not culpable to the crime and the hotel was re-opened for business subsequently”
Further, by demolishing the property that was the alleged crime scene, the governor and the police have tampered with and destroyed evidence.
By his reckless actions, Governor Obi has turned Anambra state into a jungle where he is now the lord, dispensing punishment according to his whims and caprices. The Police in Anambra state are his tools and accomplices.
If the Governor who is the Chief Executive of the state does not believe in the rule of law and the due process, who else will?
Even if the Governor can prove that the owner of the hotel is involved in the alleged heinous crime of ‘ritual killing’, he will still be liable to pay damages for failing to follow due process. I repeat, for emphasis, that Governors have no right to engage in fragrant abuse of power such as one of arrogating to themselves the right to authorize the destruction of private property without first getting a court order. The Governor has to be held accountable for this flagrant and reckless abuse of power
THE UNRESOLVED EZU RIVER DEAD BODIES SAGA
I consider it an act of failure of responsibility on the part of the Anambra State Government not to have unravelled and made public the truth about the outrageous discovery of several floating dead bodies in Ezu River in January 2013. The danger in not unraveling this atrocity and bringing the perpetrators to justice is that those who perpetrated the heinous crime and others who may harbor or contemplate similar crime will be emboldened to repeat it. Public health and public safety are at stake here!
The bodies were first seen in the morning of January 19, 2013 by some indigenes of Amansea in Anambra state who went to the river to fetch water.
Curiously, upon being informed of the floating dead bodies, the governor ordered their immediate burial, instead of ordering and/or ensuring an exhaustive investigation into the circumstances surrounding such horrific incident.
It is the responsibility of the governor, as the chief security officer of the state, to ensure investigation to ascertan the circumstances surrounding the discovery of such large number of human corpses floating in a river which is the main source of drinking water for neighboring communities. How did the victims die and who dumped their dead bodies in the river? To cover up such atrocity smacks of gross irresponsibility and complicity.
It is shameful and suspicious that up to date the actual number of the dead bodies is yet to be credibly ascertained. This is a pointer to the possibility that something is being hidden from the public. The failure by the governor to ensure a deeper digging into the allegation that the victims were detainees killed in police custody and their dead bodies dumped in the river by their killers is disconcerting and raises serious questions.
The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) claimed that nine of the dead bodies found floating on the river were those of their members earlier arrested by security agents who raided their meeting venue and detained them at SARS Awkuzu. The ethnic self-determination and some civic groups in Anambra have conclusively asserted that the dead bodies were those of detainess extrajudicially killed by SARS and secretly dumped in the river. We are surprised that the Anambra state governor has not taken this serious allegation which provides a clue seriously enough to ensure a credible investigation with a view to providing a proof or disproof for it.
The investigation conducted into the Ezu river incident by joint Senate Committees on Police Affairs and National Security and Intelligence was perfunctory. And because it was shallow and unprofesssional, it did not unravel any substantial or far reaching information that could lead to a resolution of the matter.
Despite the investigation by the joint Senate committees chaired by Senator Paulinus Igwe Nwagu and Senator Mohammed Magoro, certain basic facts are yet to be established. The report did not reveal the identities of the victims, their actual figure and the circumstances around their killing: who killed them and dumped their dead bodies in the river. These and many other basic minimum findings should have been unravelled by any serious-minded and thorough investigation.
The Senate committees’ investigation did not resolve the conflict in figures. While the IGP quoted 19 dead bodies, the DG SSS quoted 18. Other reports quoted 30 and more. How did the Senate committee, in its report, arrive at 19 instead of 30? It was also expected that the Senate Committee would require the police to account for the 9 MASSOB members they had in their custody before the discovery of the flloating corpses, since the police denied the allegation that they were among those whose bodies were allegedly dumped in the river.
How many family members of the victims did the comittee visit and interview? How did they determine the type of gun used? Who shot them and why?
The Senate Committee and the Anambra State Commissioner for health stated that autopsy reports revealed that some of the corpses had gunshot wounds on them. Isn’t this a useful clue which needed to be further explored forensically? A ballistic examination of the bullets extracted from the dead bodies will determine the type of guns used to kill them.
The Committee also reported that the gunshots ‘aimed areas of the body: legs up to the knee cap and some up to the hips’. What did the committee make of this? Considering the strong suspicion of police complicity, why did the senate committee not consider it necessary to conduct or engage an expert to carry out an audit of suspects in police custody in SARS and other police stations in Anambra and Enugu states?
It appears that the police and the Anambra state government are reluctant to push the matter because there are strong indications that security agents could have been responsible for the killings.
The Anambra State Governor is yet to act on the senate committee’s recommendation “That the Anambra State Government should also be encouraged to carry out a more thorough DNA test on the bodies as requested by the pathologists.”
THE ROLE OF THE SARS IN ILLEGAL AND CRIMINAL ACTS IN ANAMBRA STATE
One thing that is common and striking in the two cases above- the illegal demolition of properties and the discovery of the floating dead bodies- is the role of the police in Anambra State, particularly, the Special Anti Robbery Squad, Awkuzu.
I have received information about an unholy alliance between Governor Peter Obi and the authorities at SARS Awkuzu whose operatives operate as if they are above the law and beyond legal control and accountability. The failure by the Anambra state governor to ensure investigation into allegations that SARS Awkuzu was responsible for the killing of the people whose dead bodies were found in Ezu River and his use of the same SARS to provide security cover for the illegal demolition of people’s property appear to underscore this unholly alliance.
The SARS is a section of the Nigeria police under the Force Criminal Investigation Department and specifically charged ‘to combat armed robbery and other heinous crimes nationwide.’ But SARS in all parts of Nigeria have gained embarrassing notoriety tainting the image of the Nigerian Police locally and internationally, and should either be scrapped or comprehensively reformed to conform to modern standards of policing or human rights-compliant policing. SARS operatives are known for arresting people for all manner of alleged offences, torturing, extorting and executing suspects and detainees in their custody and secretely disposing of their dead bodies. They also dabble into civil disputes.
The police in SARS, Awkuzu, Anambra and many other places in the country are being used by politicians and other influential persons to victimize their opponents or to settle disputes that are purely civil or communal. The IGP is not unaware of this serious human rights challenge. Shortly after his appointment as Acting IGP, he was quoted in several news reports as lamenting that ‘ ‘Our Special Anti-Robbery Squads (SARS) have become killer teams engaging in deals for land speculators and debts collection…’ The IGP should, as a matter of urgency, re-organize SARS and the entire anti-robbery operations of the Nigeria police force, so as to insulate them from abuse of office….
Written By Okechukwu Nwanguma
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